
(Iks S 13 4 S3 

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COPYRIGHT DEPOStT. 



A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 




Photo by Nathan R. Graves Co. 
A LITTLE GARDEN OF FAIR FLOWERS 



A LITTLE GARDEN 
THE YEAR ROUND 

WHEREIN MUCH JOY WAS FOUND 
EXPERIENCE GAINED AND PROFIT 
SPIRITUAL AS WELL AS MUNDANE 
DERIVED WITHOUT LOSS OF PRESTIGE 
IN A PRACTICAL NEIGHBORHOOD 

BY 

GARDNER TEALL 




NEW YORK 

E. P. DUTTON & COMPANY 

681 FIFTH AVENUE 



Copyright, 1919, 
BY E. P. DUTTON & COMPANY 

All Rights Reserved 



Jhu 26 i9!9 



Printed in the United States of America 



©CLASS 9 161 



r- 
A 



TO 

MY FATHER 

WILLIAM ALLEN TEALL 

THIS LITTLE BOOK IS DEDICATED 

IN MEMORT OF THE FIRST LITTLE GARDEN 

I EVER KNEW 



A FOREWORD TO THE 
DEAR GARDEN-LOVER 

A little garden square and wall'd; 
And in it throve an ancient evergreen, 
A yew-tree, and all round it ran a walk 
Of shingle, and a walk divided it. 

Tennyson. 

A LITTLE garden the year round — 
how dear memory holds it in the 
heart! What lessons it taught, 
primer of all which you, Dear Garden-Lover, 
will find in this little book ! And if it chances 
that you don't skip prefaces, things the author 
may say of the pages to follow, or return to 
demand from him an explanation of your pos- 
sible disappointments, let him confide to you 
that he might never have ventured forth into 
the realms of your generosity, had not the 
kindly encouragement of your neighbors al- 
ready put seal of approval on the various es- 



viii FOREWORD TO THE GARDEN-LOVER 

says in garden literature from his own pen 
which have faithfully served as quarry, when 
here a stone and there a stone seemed as ready 
as his craft could make it to lend strength to 
the foundation of this little edifice. 

This little book of a little garden the year 
round seeks, in friendly way, not only to be 
useful to every garden-owner, and to every 
garden-beginner who looks forward to making 
a garden of his own, but to convey some sense 
of the joys of gardening, some realization of 
the pleasures that find place in the heart and 
soul of one who combines the companionship 
of prose and poetry in the going about his 
gardening, an occupation indulged in for rec- 
reation, whose limits have taught him that a 
world may be held in a nutshell after all, if the 
experiences of his own are not forgotten, and 
particularly if his trained, observant and sym- 
pathetic eye is permitted to make its discov- 
eries in the broader acreage of his fellow gar- 
den-makers. 

There can never be too many garden-lovers, 
nor can there ever be too many garden books. 
I turn to my gardening shelves and scan their 
titles lovingly. They have taught me much, 



A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND ix 

have confirmed observations of my own and 
even those with whom I have, in the mind's 
way, held dispute, still linger that I may do 
battle with them, and thus renew confidence 
in my own reputed prowess ! 

Perhaps some impatient garden-maker will 
shrug shoulder at the things I find in a little 
garden. Let him snatch at lettuces, confound 
grubs, bully cabbages and drive potatoes to 
his cellar with the lash of a hardened prac- 
ticality that never gets above the stomach! 
For him this little book is not! You, Dear 
Garden-Lover, you I count upon, for you too, 
I know will be thinking of the birds and the 
flowers even while arranging your radish seeds 
in orderly rows. And I shall be gratefully 
appreciative to you, as I am to those who have 
permitted me to draw upon the essays, of 
which I have already told you, that I might 
plan for you this little book. 

Acknowledgments are due Mr. Charles Al- 
len Munn, Messrs. Munn and Company, Inc. 
(publishers of American Homes and Gardens 
during the editorship of the author), Messrs. 
Conde Nast and Company, Inc. (publishers 
of House <% Garden, of which the author was 



x FOREWORD TO THE GARDEN-LOVER 

earlier Associate Editor), Mr. Richardson 
Wright, Editor of House <% Garden, Woman's 
Home Companion; The House Beautiful, 
Pictorial Review, The New York Tribune, Art 
§ Life, and Messrs. Robert M. McBride & 
Company for their courtesy in permitting the 
author to draw upon the articles he has con- 
tributed to the periodicals named for such of 
the material as he has woven into this little gar- 
land of garden thoughts and suggestions. 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER PAGE 

I. A Little Flower Garden ... 1 

II. Making the Little Flower Garden 8 

III. Spring Flower-Planting Table . . 22 

IV. Dahlias 24 

V. Cosmos 32 

VI. Autumn Flower-Planting ... 36 

VII. Autumn Flower-Planting Table . 47 

VIII. Peonies 49 

IX. Gladioli 53 

X. Bulbs in the Garden 59 

XI. The Hyacinth 65 

XII. A Persian Garden 72 

XIII. The Indoor Garden 81 

XIV. Evergreens and Ferns for Indoors . 95 
XV. Geraniums 105 

XVI. The Vegetable Garden .... 114 

XVII. A Vegetable-Planting Table . . 121 

XVIII. The Salad Garden 122 

XIX. Vines 130 

XX. Clematis . 136 

xi 



xii CONTENTS 

CHAPTER PAGE 

XXI. Shrubs 142 

XXII. Evergreens 150 

XXIII. Gardens and Architecture . . . 160 

XXIV. Sundial Mottoes 166 

XXV. Through the Year in a Little 

Garden 175 

XXVI. L' Envoi: The Vesper Garden . . 225 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

1. A Little Garden of Fair Flowers 

Frontispiece 

FACING 

2. A Little Garden Like This One is a paqe 

Happy Possession 1 

3. A Little Garden Well Planned . . 8 

4. White Cosmos 32 

5. A Garden of Perennials is a Garden 

of Delight 36 

6. Peonies Should Have a Place in Every 

Garden 49 

7. A Tulip Border is Nature's Most 

Gorgeous Gift 59 

8. Fragrant Snowy Hyacinths are Spring's 

Most Perfect Garden Gift ... 65 

9. Plan of a Persian Garden .... 72 

10. A Happy Bedding Arrangement of 

Geraniums 105 

11. Vegetable Gardening is not all 

Drudgery 114 

12. The Clematis (C. Virginiana) as a 

Porch Vine 136 

13. Shrubs Do Much to Knot the House 

to the Landscape 142 

xiii 



xiv LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

FACING 

14. Evergreens Lend Nobility to the page 

Garden Landscape 150 

15. There is Beauty in the Well-Placed 

Garden Arch 160 

16. The Perfect Garden Should Have Its 

Sun-Dial 166 

17. A Little Garden of Bulb Flowers . 175 



A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 




Photo by Nathan R Graves Co. 
A LITTLE GARDEN LIKE THIS ONE IS A HAPPY POSSESSION 



A LITTLE GARDEN 
THE YEAR ROUND 



A LITTLE FLOWER GARDEN 

THERE is a lovely garden nestling in 
a quiet valley of the Connecticut 
countryside that I shall call Every- 
man's garden, because here one finds, season 
after season, a world of delight in the delec- 
table array of blooming things dear to the heart 
of every one who holds close to him the memory 
of Hollyhocks, Larkspurs, Columbines, Mari- 
golds, Cockscombs, Poppies, Asters, Fox- 
gloves, Canterbury Bells, Love-in-a-Mist, 
Mignonette, Sweet William, Petunias, the 
Zinnia and all the other beautiful flowers we 
have called old-fashioned because we love them 
best. Here one finds no orderly array of 



2 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

stiffly designed flower beds, looking for all the 
world like a patch-quilt for keeping Nature 
covered up. Instead, great banks of Phlox, 
clumps of Peonies, trellises of Sweet Peas, and 
banks of Nasturtiums hold almost riotous sway 
over the domain that stretches from doorstep 
to the gate, which seems always swinging open 
to welcome you to the wonderland it gives ac- 
cess to. When you see the gorgeous blaze of 
wonderful color before you, as though all the 
gems of Aladdin's command had been strewn 
by careless but generous hand just there, you 
will rub your eyes to make sure you are not 
dreaming; that this little paradise is real, after 
all. Whatever notions you may have enter- 
tained about stiff borders, symmetrical edges 
and formal garden lay-outs will vanish utterly 
under the spell this garden casts around one, 
and you will find that it can teach you more in 
an hour than many another has taught you in 
a season. 

A few years ago — fifty if you will — we were 
all imagining that we had no history; to-day 
we realize we have made a great deal. We 
cannot whirl through the countryside and catch 
a glimpse of some old house, landmark of our 



A LITTLE FLOWER GARDEN 3 

Colonial era, that our hearts do not bound 
up within us with the pride we hold in all we 
have done since then. It is not because this 
old pewter mug, or that old sampler, or these 
quaint candlesticks evoke our admiration 
merely in themselves for their intrinsic worth 
that we bargain for them, collect them, and 
carry them off with us, to adorn our houses, 
with almost as much pride as the conquerors 
of old brought back their spoils to adorn the 
victory; it is because history and these things 
have gone hand in hand, a thing we love to be 
reminded of, the quality which lends to the 
"antique" its chief charm. That, too, is why 
we must have reproductions of the old things, 
if the old things themselves are to be denied 
us. So it is with gardens. The Englishman 
may walk among his box-bordered geometri- 
cies, his Yew-covered paths ; the Italian among 
his balustrated terraces, sentineled by Cy- 
presses; the Hollander among his Tulip-beds, 
the Spaniard within his arbors of Jasmine, the 
Frenchman around his rows of Lilies, and the 
northlander about his shrubbery, his Moss- 
Roses and Forget-Me-Nots ; but to the heart 
of every American that garden of flowers is 



4 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

the loveliest which carries with its perfume the 
reminiscent suggestion of those gardens of our 
cradle days, when Salem roasted witches but 
overlooked the enchantments of her dooryard, 
red with Four-O' Clocks, white with Candy- 
tuft, blue with Batchelors' Buttons, and when 
the good folk of Boston Village, each over his 
neighbor's fence, discussed the newest Lark- 
spur seed, the fantastic forms of the Gourd. 
We love to be reminded, too, of Martha Wash- 
ington's garden at Mt. Vernon, of the bouquets 
that used to come fresh with the morning dew 
upon them to Mistress Dolly Madison, of the 
garden where the brave Boys in Blue and the 
brave Boys in Gray played in their happy 
youth, taking little heed of the prophecy of 
the relentless Dicentra — Bleeding Heart, in- 
deed! 

And so, when I come into a garden such as 
this one, where on a Summer's day the hum of 
bees throws me into drowsy meditation and the 
winds waft sweet music of the nodding stems 
to listening ears, I say it is the best garden of 
all — your garden, my garden — Everyman's 
garden. 



A LITTLE FLOWER GARDEN 5 

"If they to whom God gives fair gardens knew 
The happy solace which sweet flowers be- 
stow; 
Where pain depresses, and where friends are 
few, 
To cheer the heart in weariness and woe" 

These words of a poet, whose name has long 
since been forgotten, come to one as he strolls 
through the banks of flowering verdure, but 
only because we feel sorry for that poet of 
long ago. He may have known lovely gar- 
dens, but had he known this one, never would 
the burden of his song have carried with it 
suggestion of any plaint, but he would have 
felt that spirit of all gardens whispering as the 
genius loci to him, as in the exquisite words of 
Francis Thompson's "An Anthem of Earth" : 

"Here I untrammel. 
Here I pluck loose the body's cerementing , 
And break the tomb of life; here I shake off 
The bur o J the world, mans congregation shun, 
And to the antique order of the dead 
I take the tongueless vows; my call is set 
Here in thy bosom; my little trouble is ended 
In a little peace" 



6 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

How inseparable, indeed, are gardens and 
poetry, poetry and gardens, though many there 
be (they, perhaps, who are merely born with 
the botanist's eye, the agriculturist's crop pro- 
clivities, or the spademan's muscle) who pre- 
tend to find in the garden only the suggestion 
of a deal of troweling, a scattering of seeds, a 
turn at weeding, a thorn or two, and the trouble 
of beginning it all over again, meeting the oc- 
cupation or the necessity withal, as the case 
may be, season after season and year after 
year, but as a matter of business, as part of the 
business of life, a duty performed well but 
blindly, unillumined by the inner light that 
sheds its radiance upon the joys of gardening. 

Indeed, I know a man who has a yard full of 
plants space-filling his summertimes. If you 
should ask him why he plants them, he could 
not tell you, though I suspect he is coming un- 
der the spell of habit and that a few more years 
will find him understanding that he has a gar- 
den, not merely a Rose here, a Lilac there and 
a row of Geraniums, causing him a deal of 
grumbling and trouble, because he looks upon 
them solely as agents in outvieing his neigh- 
bor's floral display; I say he cannot forever 



A LITTLE FLOWER GARDEN 7 

escape the heart-song his sorry garden is try- 
ing to sing to him — sorry garden, for a garden 
cannot make itself — he cannot escape it if he 
has a soul, and I think he has. When I go 
down his street and look over his fence at the 
growing things beyond, for all the world a 
garden of prim precision and joylessness, I 
say to myself, "That is Noman's garden," and 
I pass on with a sigh. I tried to talk to him 
once about gardens — about mine. It was in 
the early Spring, and I hoped to learn how 
he had managed to make his Larkspurs taller 
than mine, though his were not so blue. Alas ! 
Enough chemicals to have established a phar- 
macy, and a grim determination that his gar- 
den would look down upon mine, — that was 
all I got out of him; he had never heard of 
Omar Khayyam, of Francis Thompson, and 
would have lost faith in Francis Bacon had he 
known the great philosopher had "wasted" his 
time in discoursing "Of Gardens." For my 
own part, I can dismiss the matter of Noman's 
garden from my mind as though he were a pur- 
veyor of dried herbs, being, nevertheless, char- 
itable enough to wish him well. 



II 



MAKING THE LITTLE FLOWER GARDEN 

1LOVE to sit out under the trees of 
Everyman's garden. Now and then a 
whiff of clover-fragrance, of perfume 
from the lovely fields beyond, cuts keenly to 
our retreat, and the master of the garden 
shakes his head laughingly and gives warning 
that his flower-children will be jealous. So they 
are; the next fluttering of leaves is turned by 
zephyrs scented with the subtle incense of the 
Columbine, the Honeysuckle or the strange, 
sweet breath of the Dahlia. Then I tell the 
rr. aster of this garden all the hopes and fears 
I hold for my own. For two seasons now, I 
tell him, I have been striving to rear my treas- 
ured plants and bring them to maturity, that 
they may frame the garden of my dreams. 
He leads me to an old back porch screened with 
Honeysuckle, Clematis, and stringed Morn- 

8 




Photo by Nathan R. Graves Co. 
A LITTLE GARDEN WELL PLANNED 



MAKING THE LITTLE FLOWER GARDEN 9 

ing-Glories. "Here," he tells me, "I keep the 
diary of my garden." I look over his shoul- 
der at the books he holds forth and find that 
for many years he has jotted down with lov- 
ing care therein all sorts of things every one 
should know about his garden. Some of the 
things I find written in these bulky notebooks 
are much the same as the things the master of 
Noman's garden begrudgingly dispensed when 
I pressed him for information. How differ- 
ently it is with the master of Everyman's gar- 
den! Eagerly I begin to compare notes, first 
turning to his trim little entries under 

SITES AND SOILS FOR THE GARDEN 

"They must be weed-free." We both agree 
as to that. Weeds cannot be cut under and 
allowed to hide their heads, ostrich-like. We 
must not let the foolish things take silly ad- 
vantage of us that way. We must root them 
out in earnest, and burn them. Moreover, if 
the garden plot we have determined upon is 
neighbor to a weedy field, we shall be called 
upon to exercise some vigilance over-fence. It 
is a poor neighbor who will not lend hand to 



10 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

organized effort in a community to root out 
obnoxious weeds. We all know that nothing 
is so injurious to a flower garden as too much 
water, or too little. A garden spot upon a 
slope with a southern exposure is ideal for a 
site, permitting, as it does, access to sunshine 
— all flowers need that — and proper drainage 
often denied to the flat garden. We are re- 
minded, too, of the havoc north and west winds 
wreak upon Roses and other tender plants and 
we must plan a hedge, shrubbery or some other 
means of shielding our gardens in the direc- 
tions of these winds. The owner of Every- 
man's garden tells me he chose its site away 
from the road-front, for he not only wished his 
flowers to be free from the dust clouds stirred 
up by the vehicles constantly passing, but also 
because, wishing to have the joy of spending 
several hours each day tending his plants, he 
sought a spot that would give him greater pri- 
vacy than the road-front. 

We both discovered, as every one who has a 
garden comes to discover, that dirt is not soil 
— at least not soil in the sense of the proper 
source of nourishment for plants. With earth 
made up of sand and clay and decayed vege- 



MAKING THE LITTLE FLOWER GARDEN 11 

table, called humus, plant life must be sup- 
plied from these in proportion to the require- 
ments of species. We usually refer to a very 
sandy or a very clayey soil as a poor soil, and 
one abundantly supplied with humus as good 
soil. A poor sandy soil contains from 80 to 
100 per cent, of sand, and as sand, unmixed 
with vegetable or animal matter, supplies little 
nutriment to plants, it stands to reason one 
would hardly expect to make a lovely garden 
out of a mere sandbank, or out of a stretch of 
closely-packed clay, for though clay may con- 
tain plant food, the roots of plants cannot get 
to it unless the clayey soil is mixed with other 
soil. To a mixed sandy and clayey soil we 
give the name loam. Such loam contains 
from 40 to 60 per cent, of sand; if from 60 to 
80 per cent, of sand, we call it sandy loam, and 
if less than 40 per cent, of sand we call it clayey 
loam. This loam is the basis of all good gar- 
den soil. Drainage lightens the soil and per- 
mits aeration, which is so necessary to it; and, 
freed from stagnant moisture, the earth be- 
comes warmer and drier and more fertile, as 
the bacteria which nitrify it and convert 
manure into plant food can live in soil that is 



12 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

properly drained and tilled in infinitely greater 
quantities than in soil that stands neglected. 
We must remember, too, that no amount of 
commercial fertilizer will help our gardens if 
the body soil is not put into a proper condition 
to receive and take care of it ; one might as well 
try to strain tea through a basin of jade. The 
owner of Everyman's garden has written in 
his notebook this quotation from Sorauer's 
"Physiology of Plants": "The ideal condi- 
tion of a soil is one which resembles a sponge 
and in which it will retain the greatest amount 
of nutritive substances and water without los- 
ing its capacity for absorbing air." There you 
have it in a nutshell. The problem does not 
seem so terrifying after all. We have only 
to dig a bit in the garden area. If we find the 
soil there too "heavy," we shall know what to 
do ; too light, we shall likewise know how to al- 
ter its condition; but in either event we shall 
not forget that it will require frequent fer- 
tilizing to keep it "up to pitch." 

DRAINAGE 

I know of no better method of testing the 
soil of the garden plot than that of digging sev- 



MAKING THE LITTLE FLOWER GARDEN 13 

eral holes to a depth of three feet and covering 
them to prevent rain from entering. Then, 
after several wet days, the covering may be re- 
moved, and if water is found to have risen 
within the holes it may be safely assumed that 
the ground is not properly drained. For large 
areas of garden soil runs of tile drainage pipe 
will be needed if the water collects beneath the 
top soil, but for small garden areas the soil 
may be removed to a depth of some thirty 
inches to receive an underbed of five inches of 
gravel. Of course, in such an operation the 
top soil must be restored to its original po- 
sition. 

FERTILIZING 

It is not always easy for the garden begin- 
ner to know just how much fertilizer the soil 
requires. Perhaps he will discover that "over- 
fed" Nasturtiums wither and die, but one can- 
not seem to "over-feed" the jolly little inhabi- 
tants of the flower-bed. Probably for the 
average flower garden stable or barnyard 
manure (that which has been heaped for at 
least six months, until it is well rotted) will 
prove sufficient. Stable manure, two barrow- 



14 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

fuls, say, to a square rod being ample, or some- 
what less if barnyard manure (better for dry 
soils) is used. 

Annuals bloom more freely the more fre- 
quently they are cut. Sweet Peas, Mignon- 
ette, Gaillardia, Nicotiana, Nasturtiums, Core- 
opsis, Love-in-a-Mist, Sweet William — how 
could we get along without them! Often it 
happens that a severe winter wreaks havoc in 
the perennial border. With the advent of 
Spring we find bare spots in the garden bor- 
ders where there should be plants. Too late 
it is to move other perennials to fill these gaps 
and it is in such instances that we again real- 
ize how very necessary the spring-planted flow- 
ers are to every garden, as annuals can be used 
for filling up the borders. Then our gardens 
would have whole dreary stretches of flowerless 
plants during those periods which await the 
time of blossoming perennials were it not for 
annuals. The newly made garden becomes a 
joyful sight the first season by reason of a 
profusion of properly planted annuals. The 
Spring weeks will be slipping by speedily, and 
how glad the garden-beginner will be to have 
given thought in time to Spring planting prob- 



MAKING THE LITTLE FLOWER GARDEN 15 

lems when he comes to realize that the peren- 
nials he planted last autumn will not be suffi- 
cient (the first season) to meet his expecta- 
tions, and that the perennials he will be plant- 
ing this Spring will not bloom until the second 
season. 

When seed is planted (see the Spring 
Flower-Planting Table which follows this 
chapter) the soil must be firmed down to hold 
it in place. This assists the rootlets to take a 
firm hold upon the germination. This firming 
( accomplished by pressing the soil with a 
board, removing the board, of course!) also 
greatly assists the soil of the flower-bed to pro- 
mote what Dr. L. H. Bailey terms "capillar- 
ity," providing the surface soil with a means 
to retain moisture to a greater extent than if 
the friable, loose soil were left "open" at the 
top for complete moisture evaporation. 

FLOWERING MONTHS 

Garden-beginners may find the following 
memorandum of flowers to be found in bloom 
in particular months of value and interest. 
April: Bellis, Forget-me-not, and Primrose. 



16 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

May: Adonis, Sweet Alyssum, Alyssum Sax- 
atile, Iberis, Pansy, and Iceland Poppy. June: 
Ageratum, Columbine (Aquilegia), Adonis, 
Sweet Alyssum, Balsam, Bellis, Calendula, 
Calliopsis, Candytuft (Iberis), Carnation, 
Celosia, Clarkia, Coreopsis, Foxglove, Lark- 
spur, Lobelia, Love-Lies-Bleeding, Love-in-a 
Mist, Lupine, Pansy, Iceland Poppy, Oriental 
Poppy, Salpiglossis, Scabiosa, Silene, Stock, 
and Sweet Pea. July: Ageratum, Sweet 
Alyssum, Antirrhinum, Aquilegia, Aster, 
Bachelors' Button, Balsam, Bellis, Calendula, 
Calliopsis, Campanula, Candytuft, Carna- 
tion, Ricinus, Clarkia, Coreopsis, Dahlia, 
Forget-me-not, Four O'Clock, Gaillardia, 
Globe Amaranth, Godetia, Larkspur, Lava- 
tera, Lobelia, Love-Lies-Bleeding, Love- 
in-a-Mist, Marigold, Mignonette, Monks- 
hood, Morning- Glory, Nasturtium, Nico- 
tiana, Petunia, Phlox, Poppy, Portulaca, 
Salpiglossis, Scabiosa, Schizanthus, Silene, 
Stock, Sweet Pea, Sweet William, Thunber- 
gia, Torenia, Verbena, Wallflower and Zin- 
nia. August: Ageratum, Sweet Alyssum, An- 
tirrhinum, Aster, Bachelors' Button, Balsam, 
Calendula, Calliopsis, California Poppy, Cam- 



MAKING THE LITTLE FLOWER GARDEN 17 

panula, Candytuft, Carnation, Castor Bean, 
Celosia, Chrysanthemum, Clarkia, Coreopsis, 
Cosmos, Dahlia, Four O'Clock, Gaillardia, 
Globe Amaranth, Godetia, Gourd, Helian- 
thus, Hollyhock, Larkspur, Lobelia, Love- 
in-a-Mist, Marigold, Mignonette, Monkshood, 
Morning-Glory, Nasturtium, Nicotiana, Pe- 
tunia, Phlox, Dianthus, Poppy, Iceland 
Poppy, Oriental Poppy, Portulaca, Pyreth- 
rum, Rudbeckia (Golden Glow), Salpiglossis, 
Scabiosa, Stock, Sunflower, Sweet Pea, Sweet 
William, Thunbergia, Torenia, Veronica, 
Wallflower and Zinnia. 

The following flowers may be found in 
bloom in the late months: Ageratum, Sweet 
Alyssum, Antirrhinum, Aster, Balsam, Calen- 
dula, Calliopsis, Candytuft, Carnation, Castor 
Bean, Celosia, Chrysanthemum, Clarkia, 
Coreopsis, Cosmos, Dahlia, Gaillardia, Go- 
detia, Helianthus, Hollyhock, Larkspur, 
Lobelia, Love-in-a-Mist, Marigold, Mignon- 
ette, Moonflower, Morning-Glory, Nasturtium, 
Nicotiana, Petunia, Phlox, Dianthus, Poppy, 
Iceland Poppy, Portulaca, Pyrethrum, Rud- 
beckia, Salpiglossis, Salvia, Silene, Stock, Sun- 



18 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

flower, Sweet Pea, Thunbergia, Torenia, Ver- 
bena, Wallflower and Zinnia. 



COLOR GROUPS 

As so much in flower gardening depends on 
color effects, the following short list of flow- 
ers, arranged according to color, has been com- 
piled: White: Ageratnm, Sweet Alyssum, 
Columbine (Aquilegia), Aster, Bachelors' 
Button, Balsam, Bellis, Campanula, Candy- 
tuft (Iberis), Chrysanthemum, Clarkia, Cos- 
mos, Dahlia, Foxglove, Four O' Clock, Globe 
Amaranth, Godetia, Gypsophila, Hollyhock, 
Annual Larkspur, Lobelia, Love-in-a-Mist, 
Lupine, Monkshood, Moonflower, Morning- 
Glory, Nicotiana, Pansy, Petunia, Phlox, 
Pink, Poppy, Portulaca, Scabiosa, Silene, 
Stock, Sweet Pea, Thunbergia, Torenia, Ver- 
bena, and Zinnia. Yellow: Adonis, Alyssum 
Saxtile, Calendula, Calliopsis (Coreopsis), 
California Poppy, Chrysanthemum, Clarkia, 
Dahlia, Four O'Clock, Globe Amaranth, Gail- 
lardia, Helianthus, Hollyhock, Love-Lies- 
Bleeding, Marigold, Nasturtium, Pansy, 
Poppy, Portulaca, Primrose, Rudbeckia, 



MAKING THE LITTLE FLOWER GARDEN 19 

Scabiosa, Schizanthus, Sunflower, Thun- 
bergia, Verbena, Wallflower and Zinnia. 
Blue: Ageratum, Aquilegia, Aster, Bachelors' 
Button, Campanula, Forget-me-not, Lark- 
spur, Lobelia, Love-in-a-Mist, Lupine, Monks- 
hood, Moonflower, Morning Glory, Pansy, Pe- 
tunia, Sweet Pea, Phlox and Tornia. Purple: 
Chrysanthemum, Clarkia, Globe Amaranth, 
Petunia, Phlox, Dianthus, Morning Glory, 
Sweet Pea and Veronica. Pink: Bachelors' 
Button, Bellis, Campanula, Carnation, Chrys- 
anthemum, Cosmos, Dahlia, Globe Amaranth, 
Annual Larkspur, Lupine, Primrose, Silene, 
Sweet Pea and Zinnia. Red: Bellis, Chrysan- 
themum, Dahlia, Clarkia, Cosmos, Four 
O'Clock, Lavatera, Love-Lies-Bleeding, 
Morning Glory, Nicotiana, Pansy, Poppy, 
Portulaca, Salvia, Sweet Pea, Zinnia. 

FLOWERS FOR PARTLY SHADED LOCATIONS 

Among those flowers which will succeed in 
partial shade are to be noted the Antirrhinum, 
Aquilegia, Bellis, Campanula, Coreopsis, For- 
get-me-not, Larkspur (perennial), Monks- 
hood, Moonflower, Morning-Glory, Pansy, 



20 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

Iceland Poppy, Oriental Poppy, Primrose, 
Pyrethrum, Schizanthus and the Verbena. 
This, of course, does not mean that these 
species will thrive in locations on which some 
direct sunlight does not fall for some part of 
the day. 

HEIGHT OF FLOWERING PLANTS 

Another thing to consider in planning the 
garden is the height which the flowering plant 
is, under normal conditions, likely to attain. 
Plants, for instance, which are comparatively 
low-growing are Adonis, Bellis, Candytuft, 
Pansy, Portulaca, Silene and Verbena. Those 
of a little taller growth are Sweet Alyssum, 
Forget-me-not, Marigold, Mignonette, Poppy, 
and Primrose. Among the plants which com- 
monly attain a height of twelve inches are 
Ageratum, Alyssum Saxatile, California 
Poppy. Still taller in growth are the Aster, 
Bachelors' Button, Carnation, Chrysanthe- 
mum, Gaillardia, Globe Amaranth, Annual 
Larkspur, Dianthus, Iceland Poppy, Pyre- 
thrum, Petunia, Lupine, Love-in-a-Mist, 
Godetia, Gypsophila, Calliopsis, Calendula, 
Salpiglossis, Salvia, Scabiosa, Schizanthus, 



MAKING THE LITTLE FLOWER GARDEN 21 

Stock, Sweet William, Torenia, Veronica, 
Wallflower, and Zinnia. Among those flower- 
ing plants which reach in height to three feet 
or more, one may note Antirrhinum, Colum- 
bine, Campanula, Castor Bean, Celosia, An- 
nual Chrysanthemum, Clarkia, Coreopsis, 
Cosmos, Dahlia, Foxglove, Gourd, Helian- 
thus, Hollyhock, Larkspur, Lavatera, Love- 
Lies - Bleeding, Monkshood, Moonflower, 
Morning Glory, Mallow, Nasturtium, Nico- 
tiana, Phlox, Oriental Poppy, Pyrethrum, 
Rudbeckia (Golden Glow), Sunflower, Sweet 
Pea, and Thunbergia. 

By carefully taking into consideration this 
matter of height of flowering plants, the gar- 
den-maker will be able to obtain much more 
pleasing effects of "landscape quality" than 
otherwise would be possible. 

One of the commonest mistakes with garden- 
beginners is to place low-growing plants which 
are intended to be conspicuously in evidence 
in positions where, as the season advances, they 
become completely hidden away by plants of 
much taller growth. In planting flower seeds, 
mark the rows with neat labels of a durable 
sort, so there will be no confusion later. 



Ill 



SPRING FLOWER-PLANTING TABLE 



Perennials and Biennials 



Bloom 



Flower 



Plants, 


Seeds, 


Inches 


Inches 


Apart 


Deep 


12 




10 


— 


6 


— 


10 


— 


26 


— 


10 


K 


12 


— 


18 


H 


6 


k 


12 


y% 


18 




16 


14, Drills 


6 


M 


8 


l A 


5 


— 


12 


Vs 


48 




8 


y* 


6 


y% 


6 


— 


12 


— 


1 12 


— 


6 


H 


8 


— 


6 


— 


8 


H 


36 


X 


10 


H 


8 


— 


6 


— 


6 


— 


8 


X 



Colors 



June-July 

July 

May-June 

Aug.-Oct. 

May-Aug. 

June-July 

July-Aug 

Aug.-Oct. 

April-July 

June 

Aug.-Sept. 

Aug. 

June-Sept. 

June-July 

June 

May-Oct. 

May- June 

July-Oct. 

Aug. 

April-May 

Aug.-Oct. 

Aug.-Sept. 

Aug.-Oct. 

June-Aug. 

June-Aug. 

July-Aug. 

Aug. 

July-Aug. 

June-Aug. 

Aug. 

March 

July-Aug. 



Aquilegia (Columbine) . . . 

Achillea 

Adonis 

Anemone 

Bleeding-Heart (Dicentra) 

Campanula 

Coral Bell 

Chrysanthemum 

Forget-Me-Not 

Foxglove 

Helianthus 

Hollyhock 

Iceland Poppy 

Larkspur 

Lupine 

Pansy 

Peony 

Phlox 

Pink 

Primrose 

Pyrethrum 

Rudbeckia 

Salvia 

Scabiosa 

Silene 

Snapdragon 

Sunflower 

Sweet William 

Verbena 

Veronica 

Violet 

Wallflower 



Various 

Various 

Yellow 

White— Rose 

Crimson 

Blue— White— Pink 

Coral 

Various 

Blue 

White— Pink 

Yellow 

Various 

White to Orange 

Blue— White— Pink 

Blue— White— Pink 

Various 

Red— White— Pink 

Various 

White to Rose 

Yellow— Pink 

Various 

Yellow 

Blue— Yellow— White 

White or Rose 

Various 

Yellow 

Red— White— Pink 

Various 

Purple 

Violet 

Yellow — Brown 



22 



SPRING FLOWER-PLANTING TABLE 

Annuals 



23 



Bloom 



Flower 



Plants, 


Seeds, 


Inches 


Inches 


Apart 


Deep 


6 




6 


X 


14 


X 


8 


H 


14 


H 


12 


X 


10 


y s 


10 


X 


8 


H 


36 


k 


18 


% 


10 


X 


10 


X 


12 


x 


10 


x 


24 


X 


36 




10 


— 


10 


— 


12 


X 


12 


y s 


12 


X 


12 


x 


14 


X 


12 




8 


X 


8 


X 


4 


x 


10 


X 


8 


X 


10 




6 


X 


12 


ys 


8 


— 


5 


X 


12 


x 


10 


a 


8 


X 


8 


Scatter 


8 


x 


5 


x 


5 


x 


8 


x 


10 


X 


6 


X 


5 


X 


8 


3, Trench 


10 


y* 



Colors 



May-June 

June-Oct. 

July-Sept. 

July 

June-Sept. 

June-Oct. 

Aug. 

June-July 

June-Sept. 

Aug. 

Aug.-Oct. 

Juue-Sept. 

June-Oct. 

June-Oct. 

June 

Aug.-Sept. 

July-Sept. 

May 

July-Aug. 

July-Aug. 

July-Oct. 

July 

July-Oct. 

July-Oct. 

May- July 

July 

June-July 

June-Sept. 

June- July 

June-Sept. 

July-Sept. 

Aug.-Oct. 

July-Oct. 

July-Aug. 

Aug.-Sept. 

July-Aug. 

July-Oct. 

July-Aug. 

July-Sept. 

July-Oct. 

July-Aug. 

July-Oct. 

June-Aug. 

July-Aug. 

June-July 

May-Sept. 

June-Oct. 

July-Oct. 



Adonis 

Ageratum 

Aster 

Bachelors' Button 

Balsam (Lady's Slipper) 

Calendula 

California Poppy 

Campanula (Bellflower) 

Candytuft 

Castor Bean 

Chrysanthemum 

Clarkia 

Cockscomb 

Coreopsis 

Cornflower 

Cosmos 

Dahlia 

Daisy 

Evening Primrose 

Four O'Clock 

Gaillardia 

Globe Amaranth 

Godetia 

Gourds 

Iris 

Lavatera 

Larkspur 

Lobelia 

Love-Lies-BIeeding .... 

Love-in-a-Mist 

Mallow 

Marigold 

Mignonette 

Monkshood 

Moonflower 

Morning Glory 

Nasturtium 

Nicotiana 

Petunia 

Phlox 

Poppy 

Portulaca 

Salpiglossis 

Schizanthus 

Stock 

Sweet Alyssum 

Sweet Pea 

Zinnia 



Yellow 

Blue— White 

Various 

Blue— White— Pink 

Various 

Orange 

Orange 

Blue— White— Pink 

White 

Green 

Various 

White — Purple— Rose 

Various 

Yellow — Brown 

Blue— White— Rose 

Red— White— Pink 

Various 

White— Pink— Rose 

Yellow 

Red— White— Yellow 

Yellow— Red 

Pink 

White— Red 

Various 

White— Blue— Yellow 

Rose 

Blue— White— Pink 

Blue— Red 

Scarlet 

Blue— White 

White — Rose 

Lemon to Orange 

Whitish Green 

White— Blue 

White 

Various 

Various 

Red— White 

Various 

Various 

Various 

White— Red— Yellow 

Various 

Yellow — Lilac 

White or Red 

White 

Various 

Various t 



IV 



DAHLIAS 



WHILE the Dahlia does not share 
the conspicuous renown of either 
the Rose or the Lily, or yet that 
of the Chrysanthemum, it still remains in our 
estimation one of the most beautiful and satis- 
factory of the old-fashioned garden flowers and 
one which no true lover of flowers should neg- 
lect to plant in his garden. Unlike the Rose 
and the Lily, it has not fragrance to boast of 
nor has it the delicate texture of the showy 
Chrysanthemum, although equally attractive 
from a decorative standpoint, if not more so. 
The soft loveliness of textural quality has had 
much to do with the unusual vogue of the 
Chrysanthemum, an attribute of almost paint- 
er-quality; while in contrast to this is the 
sculptural definiteness of the form of the 
Dahlia. The Dahlia was first introduced into 

24 



DAHLIAS 25! 

England in 1789 by Lady Bute. These speci- 
mens did not flourish, and again the Dahlia 
was brought into England by Lady Holland. 
The actual bed in which these pioneers were 
planted may be seen to-day at Holland House, 
Kensington. The first Dahlias were single in 
form, successive generations under cultivation 
having produced the remarkable double varie- 
ties that have made the modern show Dahlias 
famous. Indeed, it is doubtful if more re- 
markable examples of floral double composites 
exist. Early in the nineteenth century a horti- 
culturist succeeded in producing the Pompon 
type of Dahlia. This gave a decided impetus 
to the cultivation of the plant just as the ap- 
pearance of the Cactus Dahlia did in 1880, 
which was evolved by a Dutch Horticulturist 
of Juxphaar. 

While tastes in the choice of flowers differ, 
it is doubtful if any flowers surpass the single 
Dahlia varieties, no matter how showy the 
other types may be. It is a fact that in those 
countries where a sense of design is more prev- 
alent with the public at large than it is in 
America or in England, the Dahlia is most 
popular. Its appeal is not one of sentiment or 



26 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

sensuousness, but very truly one of design and 
strong color. One must remember that Dah- 
lias in the garden present quite a different 
problem than may be suggested by a collection 
of the flowers in an exhibition, and for this 
reason the home garden-maker can well afford 
to devote some study to the matter of the 
choice of specimens for garden display. 
Nearly all of the Dahlias of the single types 
may be grown successfully by the amateur 
gardener. 

Dahlias should have a good garden soil, 
which must not be kept overly moist else suc- 
culence in the Dahlia plants and an over-tall 
growth will be induced. A moderate watering 
of once a week or so should prove sufficient. 
However, these periodical waterings should 
not be mere sprinklings, but should, instead, 
soak the soil thoroughly. The earth must not 
be allowed to become packed around the base 
of the plant stems, for in keeping the soil 
worked up by cultivation depends success in 
Dahlia culture. Should the soil in which 
Dahlias are planted be a sandy one, a top- 
dressing composed of one part of nitrate of 
soda to four parts of bone meal, well mixed 



DAHLIAS 27 

together, can be applied. This should not be 
done before the plants are well above ground. 
As to the quantity of this top-dressing to be 
applied to the soil, it will probably be found 
that one ounce of the mixture will be sufficient 
for each square yard of the planted area. 

On the other hand, it will be found that the 
above mixture will probably contain too much 
nitrogen for a soil of heavier character, one 
into which, previous to the planting, stable 
manure has been worked. For soil of this last 
description the garden-maker will probably 
find an equal-part mixture of bone-black and 
acid phosphate, freely applied, highly success- 
ful. 

As to planting, the roots (either clumps or 
divided) should be placed to a depth of six 
inches below the soil, the earth just covering 
the crown. In the process of division the roots 
should be divided to a single eye. When grown 
in beds Dahlias may be placed three and a half 
feet apart. When the newly started plants 
have attained a height of six or eight inches it 
will be well to "pinch" the stem tops to encour- 
age a bushy growth, which is more pleasing 
than a scraggly one. As the growth advances, 



28 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

the Dahlias should be supported by firm stak- 
ing. Nowadays the more attractive gardens 
pay great attention to the matter of stakes. 
There was a time when it was considered that 
a piece of lath stuck in the ground was suffi- 
cient, but modern gardening is more careful 
to employ neater accessories, hence the most 
improved practice is to utilize painted stakes 
especially planned for the purpose of support- 
ing the more or less troublesome plant stems. 

VARIETIES OF DAHLIAS 

Among the varieties of Dahlias the follow- 
ing are to be recommended: Single Dah- 
lias, white: Eckford Century (unusually 
large flowers, flecked with pink and crimson), 
Gigantea alba Century (snow white, a prolific 
bloomer) ; pink: Rose Pink Century, Twen- 
tieth Century (an exquisite flower showing a 
blending of color from outer zone of white 
through rose hues to a center of violet crim- 
son) ; Evelyn Century, red: Cardinal Century 
(one of the best deep reds and very large), 
Wildfire Century (no Dahlia collection should 
be without this), Poppy Century, Amy Baril- 



DAHLIAS 29 

let (a rich wine-red. The foliage of this va- 
riety is very dark) ; maroon: Blackbird (a 
lovely velvety hue. The petals of this variety 
have bright red spots at their bases), Fringed 
Maroon Century; yellow: Golden Century. 

Show Dahlias, white: Grand Duke 
Alexis (soft lavender tipped), Storm King 
(early and free blooming), White Swan, 
Penelope, Camelliasfolia, John Walker, Lottie 
Eckford (striped crimson) ; pink: Duchess of 
Cambridge, Mme. Moreau, A. D. Livoni, Dor- 
othy Peacock, Mrs. Gladstone, Susan, Wm. 
Pierce ; red: Red Hussar, A. Moore, Bon-Ton, 
Crimson Globe, George Smith, Madge Wild- 
fire (orange red) ; yellow: Arabella, Lemon 
Beauty, Queen Victoria, Gold Medal. 

Cactus Dahlias, white: Snowstorm, Flag 
of Truce, Frigga, Snowden, Flora, Pius 
X; pink: Mme. H. Cayeaux, Aurora, Dor- 
othy, Fritz Severn, Juliet, Pink Pearl, Mar- 
guerite Bouchon (one of the largest varieties 
known), Perle Hilde; red: Charles Clayton, 
Gabriel, Harbor Light, Mrs. H. J. Jones, 
Amos Perry, Floradora (dark velvety crim- 
son), Standard Bearer, Barmen, Florence 
Nightingale, Flame, H. Shoesmith; maroon: 



30 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

Uncle Tom; yellow: Cockatoo, Countess of 
Lounsdale, J. B. Briant, The Pilot, Richard 
Box, Golden Eagle, Johannesburg, William 
Marshall, John H. Roach, H. Peerman, Coun- 
try Girl, Lightship, Miss A. F. Perkins, Morn- 
ing Glow, Prince of Yellow, Blanche Keith, 
Mrs. Charles Turner, Valker. 

Decorative Dahlias, white: Virginia 
Maule, Henry Patrick, Alice Roosevelt; 
pink: Delice, Sylvia, Jeanne Charmet, Mrs. 
Roosevelt, Mrs. J. G. Casett; red: Augusta 
Nonin, Admiral Togo, Maid of Kent, Jacque 
Rose, Lyndhurst; yellow: Golden Wedding, 
Golden West, Yellow Colosse, Clifford W. 
Bruton, Mrs. Hortung, Minnie McCul- 
lough. 

Pompon Dahlias, white: Snowclad, Domi- 
tea; pink: Little Beauty; red: Indian 
Chief, Mars, Sunshine, Little Herman, Crim- 
son Beauty; maroon: Darkness, Raphael; yel- 
low : Amber Queen, Catherine. 

Peony - Flowered Dahlias, white: Prin- 
cess Juliana, Cecelia, Hermine; pink: La 
France, La Hollande, Mrs. Carter Lewis, 
Marie Miletta Selma (resembles a Chrysan- 
themum) ; red: Big Chief, Cleopatra, Sensa- 



DAHLIAS 31 

tion, King Edward, Roem van Nijkerk; yel- 
low: Canary, Sunny Jim, Geisha. 

Dahlia shows are becoming more and more 
popular year after year, which offers to the 
amateur an additional incentive in the pursuit 
of this delightful specialty. The second and 
third weeks in September usually find our 
Dahlias at their best, and it is during these 
weeks that local Dahlia shows are usually given 
in consequence. The plan of local flower- 
shows in village communities has not yet re- 
ceived the encouragement it should, but in a 
village where three or four enthusiasts pursue 
the culture of Dahlias, it would be compara- 
tively easy and an interesting thing for these 
amateurs to arrange for a little local exhibit. 



COSMOS 

THE Cosmos, unknown to our gardens 
until a few years ago, has achieved 
an extraordinary and enduring pop- 
ularity. It holds a place of its own for dis- 
tinctive beauty and utility, since it is equally 
valuable for garden effects and for cutting. 

Even garden-makers of experience are not 
exceptions to the fact that it is not generally 
known that the Cosmos may be grown in soil 
far less rich than that required for most gar- 
den plants. In fact, a very rich soil tends to 
produce in the plant an overabundance of fo- 
liage and too few flowers, as well as causes 
late bloom. A more sandy soil is, in fact, pref- 
erable for planting. 

The Cosmos attains great size in California, 
but our Northern seasons are somewhat too 
short for full maturity for the giant varieties 

32 




Photo by Nathan R. Graves Co. 
white cosmos (C bipinnatus) 



COSMOS 33 

there popular, although these may be grown 
for their foliage as a backing to the earlier 
varieties successfully brought to profuse bloom 
in other sections of the country. 

Of course, the Cosmos is propagated by 
seeds sown in April indoors in flats, potted, 
and then transplanted when the frost time is 
definitely past. Recently varieties have been 
introduced that will withstand a couple of de- 
grees of frost, but the typical plants will not 
survive such an experience. If seed is sown 
in the open ground on the chance of a late 
season, it must not be sown until there is no 
longer any danger of possible frosts. The 
plants should be 18 inches apart. 

When setting out the plantlets, an abun- 
dance of water should be supplied. The great 
feathery overgrowth achieved by a Cosmos 
plant is borne upon a comparatively brittle 
stem, whence it is necessary to give the plants 
stake-supports to prevent the summer winds 
from "tumbling" them. Grown against wire- 
fences, the Cosmos stems may be tied with 
loops of raphia to the wire, which will give 
them excellent support. 

While Cosmos plants are often self-seeding, 



34 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

fresh plantings are required from year to year 
to prevent deterioration. The young plants 
should be trained to a bushy form, symmetri- 
cal in shape by "pinching." If this is not done, 
the plants will assume the scraggly nature of 
wild flowers. 

The clear white, yellow, soft pink, crimson, 
and deep red varieties make the Cosmos a pop- 
ular plant for cutting, as sprigs of the filmy- 
leaved stems dotted with attractive decorative 
flowers in these hues lend themselves effectively 
for filling large vases. In the garden it is much 
better to keep the separate colors massed to- 
gether than to mix the different varieties. A 
border of Cosmos seen across a lawn, or de- 
fining a garden boundary, presents a beautiful 
garden-note in the home landscape. Indeed, 
the landscape effects to be obtained by a ju- 
dicious planting of this lovely flower are infi- 
nite in their variety and utility. Where there 
is a scarcity of shrubs, either permanently or 
temporarily, the Cosmos will be found an ex- 
cellent annual to act as substitute. Of course, 
the giant varieties would be utilized for such 
purposes. 

The Cosmos bipinnatus often attains a 



COSMOS 35 

height of ten feet, bearing white, pink, or crim- 
son flowers. The Cosmos Hybridus listed by 
seedsmen appears to be a trade name for mixed 
varieties of the Cosmos bipinnatus. All the 
yellow varieties are derived from Cosmos sul- 
phureu&j while the Cosmos diversifolius is often 
called Black Cosmos. Some of the recent 
Cosmos varieties that may be recommended 
are: Lady Lenox (white) , Klondyke (yellow) , 
Conchita (crimson), Marguerite (various 
colors, fringed petals). While all varieties 
may be planted south of the latitude of Middle 
Illinois, the "safe" varieties for north of that 
are the early flowering mammoth ones. 



VI 



AUTUMN FLOWER-PLANTING 

HAPPILY the time is passed when 
the American home garden-maker 
simply looked upon the patch of 
ground at his disposal as being merely a bit of 
practice acreage in which, as fancy dictated, 
he might plant here and there a few seeds of 
flowers or of vegetables in haphazard confu- 
sion or skimpy orderliness, feeling that the 
whole matter was one of experiment, and that 
failure on the part of the seeds to produce what 
was expected of them, or even to come up at 
all, was not attended with any disappointments 
of serious consequence. That was the time when 
the man of the house attended to the buying 
of vegetable seeds, leaving to the housewife all 
things connected with the seeding of the flower 
garden. I do not know why it is that our 
grandfathers and our grandmothers should 

36 




I'hoto by Nathan R. Graves Co. 
A GARDEN OF PERENNIALS IS A GARDEN OF DELIGHT 



AUTUMN FLOWER-PLANTING 37 

have looked upon all gardening as a pursuit to 
be divided between themselves ; why the raising 
of vegetables should have been considered a 
manly occupation or recreation and the grow- 
ing of flowers not; but so it seems to have 
been until comparatively a few years ago. 
Now, fortunately, the joys of gardening 
are shared alike by master and mistress, 
the children, the young and the old, and a 
statesman may wax enthusiastic over his gar- 
den of rare Pinks or a milliner over her bed 
of asparagus without any one's criticizing the 
choice of either in garden planting. 

Nowadays, we do not confine our efforts to 
Springtime visits to the grocery store for a 
package of Petunia seed, a parcel of Sweet 
Peas, or an envelope of Candytuft, content to 
sprinkle it over a little dirt in a bed that occu- 
pies a corner of the "yard," sighing the while 
that we cannot seem to raise the good old flow- 
ers to the state of perfection they reached in 
the old-time gardens of ante-bellum days, or 
of Colonial heritage; instead we are happy to 
have discovered the difference between those 
flowers which have to be planted every year 
— the Annuals — and those others — the Peren- 



38 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

nials — which will continue to come up season 
after season from the original stock when once 
the seeds take root, and we have come to plan 
for permanent gardens, that shall fill our hearts 
with the joyousness their beauty will lend 
throughout the season when Nature dons her 
loveliest raiment. We have come, too, to un- 
derstand that just sticking a seed or two or a 
root into the ground anywhere is not all there 
is to gardening. Year after year our study 
of the ABC of home outdoor floriculture initi- 
ates us into the simple mysteries of garden 
craft, so that our gardens to-day are as lovely 
as those that ever gladdened the sight of the 
American home garden-makers of the early 
period. 

Autumn planting is an important part of the 
maintenance of the home garden. There are 
not in the whole realm of the Goddess Flora 
flowers more exquisite than the hardy species 
that lend themselves so admirably to perma- 
nent planting — the Sweet Williams, Delphin- 
iums, Foxgloves, Canterbury Bells, Pyre- 
thrum, Montbretia, Iris, Hollyhocks, Anem- 
ones, Primroses, Saxifrage, and the like. Oc- 
tober should be a busy month in every garden, 



AUTUMN FLOWER-PLANTING 39 

for this is an excellent time for dividing old 
roots, re-arranging the clumps of hardy Peren- 
nials where these need it, of filling gaps in 
hardy borders, and of setting out new hardy 
plants. Perhaps one of the commonest mis- 
takes made by the garden beginner is to as- 
sume that a small garden requires small plants 
and that tall-growing and large flowering 
plants are out of place in any but a large gar- 
den. We have only to recall the wondrous 
beauty of the English cottage gardens that 
seem to be bursting with their glow of Holly- 
hocks, Larkspurs, Sunflowers, and Chrysan- 
themums, to realize how lovely a tiny garden 
planted with striking flowers may be. Fol- 
lowing this chapter is a table showing, in a 
general way, the height attained by various 
flowers suitable for Autumn planting when 
these have reached their maturity. Not one of 
the plants in this list would be out of place in 
the small home garden if properly placed. 
Under "location" those that require full sun- 
light have that fact indicated by the word 
"sunny," and those that require less sunshine 
by the words "less sunny," though the garden 



40 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

beginner must never expect success with plants 
that hardly receive the sunlight at all. 

When planning for Autumn planting one 
must take into consideration the fact that in- 
asmuch as the hardy perennials are to form a 
garden that will, in all probability, remain un- 
altered for some years (so far as its essentials 
are concerned), it will be seen how necessary 
it is that such gardens be prepared with the 
greatest care and thought of their future as- 
pect. First of all, thorough drainage must 
be assured, after which manure must be worked 
into the earth to some depth, preferably three 
feet. A good way to prepare beds and bor- 
ders for permanent perennials is to dig a trench 
the size of the bed or border to the depth of 
three feet, covering the floor of it with a five- 
inch layer of rubble to assist drainage, and a 
couple of inches of coarse ashes above this, fill- 
ing up the trench with the bedding composed 
of loam, manure, and sand. This will make 
an admirable soil for setting out the hardy 
plants. Of course, the earth of newly-pre- 
pared beds and borders will settle somewhat 
and will have to be evened off later by filling. 
Where it is not possible to give to the beds 



AUTUMN FLOWER-PLANTING 41 

and borders such thorough preparation one 
must still be sure that the soil in which the 
plants are set is not poor or sour, and fertilizer 
should be worked in where needed, although it 
must be remembered that the soil should not 
be over rich. 

Seedlings grown from July sowing should 
be set out without delay in order that they may 
become established in their new environment 
before the setting in of winter. In this con- 
nection let the home garden-maker remember 
that, although Autumn planting is now gener- 
ally recommended, it is wiser in those localities 
where the winters are long and severe to defer 
planting until Springtime, as it often happens 
that the season of snow and ice sets in too early 
in such places for the newly-planted peren- 
nials to get their start ahead of the severity 
of the climate. There is an advantage in Au- 
tumn planting that should always be taken into 
account. October does not find one as rushed 
as does the month of May, for in the Spring 
the home garden-maker (who usually has only 
a limited amount of time to devote to planting 
and garden cultivation) finds the planning 



42 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

of the seeded beds quite enough to take up all 
of his leisure moments. 

When working in an established hardy gar- 
den for the purpose of removing and dividing 
the roots of old plants, one must take care not 
to damage any clumps of bulbs which might 
remain hidden in the soil. As one garden- 
lover put it: "Roots are to be fished out, not 
to be speared!" In digging up a clump of 
herbaceous roots, for resetting or for division, 
all dead shoots clinging thereto should be cut 
away. It is needless to say that all roots 
should be handled tenderly. The garden-be- 
ginner will come to learn that there is no gen- 
eral rule that can be taught him for properly 
separating old root clumps into numerous 
parts, which, when set out, themselves become 
sturdy clumps in the course of a few seasons, 
again to be divided and reset. The garden- 
maker must use his judgment and learn by ex- 
perience and the intuition that will probably 
come to his aid just how he may cut or break 
up an established clump of roots into a number 
of settings for fresh culture. This process of 
root division refreshes the stock of any hardy 
garden. If the old plants were not lifted sea- 



AUTUMN FLOWER-PLANTING 43 

son after season, they would eventually form 
root-masses that would overcrowd the beds 
and borders. Moreover, such plants as the Iris 
would form a hard root-mass which would 
give out a circle of leaves and flower-stems, 
leaving the center bare, thus forming unsightly 
patches of bare earth in the gardens. 

Fortunately for the garden-maker, Peren- 
nials present species adapted both for very 
sunny, half-sunny and shaded locations, thus 
offering a wide range of planting material both 
in low-growing Perennials and in those of 
taller growth. Again there are Perennials 
that thrive in rich soil, those that are best 
adapted to clayey soil, and still others that do 
very well in sandy soil. 

Among the hardy Perennials that require 
less sunlight than the class in general are the 
following interesting species: Monkshoods, 
Anemones, Primroses, Violets, Saxifrage, 
Funkia, Bleeding-heart, Lily-of-the-Valley, 
Day Lilies, Hepatica, Vinca, and others that 
will be found in the table following this 
chapter. 

Of the Perennials of low growth are to be 
mentioned Arabis, Aubrietia, Hepatica, Bellis 



U A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

Perennis, and Myosotis, in connection with 
which it is worth noting that the earlier peren- 
nials do not, as a rule, attain as great height 
as those which bloom after June. None of the 
species just mentioned attains a height of more 
than six or eight inches. In arranging a border 
or a bed of hardy herbaceous plants the table 
following this chapter should prove useful, in- 
asmuch as the garden-maker can there see at 
a glance the various heights to which the peren- 
nials listed attain and can, therefore, place 
them in the garden with reference to the taller 
species forming a background for those of 
lower growth. 

When arranging the permanent garden, 
succession of bloom must also be taken into 
consideration. In those states where Spring 
brings forth growing things at an early date 
one may look for Adonis, Columbine, Arabis, 
Hepatica, and Trillium to blossom ; in May for 
other varieties of Aquilegia, for Anemones, 
Bellis Perennis, Iris, Primrose, Campanula, 
etc.; in June for Iris, Lychnis, Poppies, Sca- 
biosa, Spiraea Trollius, Veronica, etc. ; in July 
for Achillea, Centaurea, Funkia, Stokesia, Ve- 
ronica Virginica, etc.; in August for 



AUTUMN FLOWER-PLANTING 45 

Asclepias, Boltonia, Helianthus, Rudbeckia, 
etc. ; in September for Aconitum, Aster Amel- 
lus, Chrysanthemum, Lobelia, Phlox Pani- 
culata, Veronica Longifolia, Sedum, etc.; and 
in October, Aconitum Autumnale, Anemone 
Japonica, Chrysanthemum, etc., all these 
species flowering somewhat according to the 
climatic conditions in the matter of time. 

Another matter for thought in planning the 
permanent garden is that of color. One would 
not care to have monotony in this respect, 
therefore it is always well to plan carefully the 
color-scheme of the garden-to-be as it will ap- 
pear from month to month, always striving to 
have each month's array of flowers present 
sufficient variety in the matter of color con- 
trast, as this color contrast is a matter which 
is of great importance in the planning of a 
fine garden. Man has spent so much of his 
time specializing, of segregating floral types, 
varieties, and colors that the garden beginner 
can easily go astray if he selects his plants with 
reference to species only. Indeed, the modern 
garden-maker must be something of an artist. 
It is not enough that things planted come up, 
grow, thrive, and endure that a gardtn will be 



3,6 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

evolved ; in the true sense of the word a garden 
must be a spot where growing things give one 
a sense of enjoyment. All the flowers in the 
world wrongly placed hardly would do that, 
even though, in their entirety, they suggested 
pleasurable individual types. No, the true 
garden-maker must be an arranger of flowers 
as well as a putter-in-the-earth of plants, for 
he must select from Flora's palette such flow- 
ers as represent the wealth of color Nature has 
placed within range of his skillful hand. 



VII 



AUTUMN FLOWER-PLANTING TABLE 



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Photo by Nathan R. Graves Co. 
PEONIES SHOULD HAVE A PLACE IN EVERY GARDEN 



VIII 



PEONIES 



W:TH all her fickleness, Dame Fash- 
ion seems never to have deserted 
the Peony. Other garden flowers 
may have been held in esteem one decade to 
be slighted the next — even the exquisite Nar- 
cissus was once neglected — but like the lovely 
Rose, the Peony remains ever popular. To a 
certain extent the Peony owes much of its en- 
during favor to its decorative foliage, although 
its beautiful flowers are, in themselves, quite 
enough to give this plant the distinction it 
commands and the place it holds in our hearts. 
We consider it an old-fashioned flower, but the 
term only endears it the more to us for it is 
ever new-fashioned as well. And what a 
wealth of color its wondrous blossoms present 
to charm the senses, and what perfect fra- 
grance! There are the sweetly perfumed but 

49 



50 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

refreshing flowers of crimson, scarlet, purple, 
salmon, pink, rose, cream, yellow and of white. 
Then there are single, double and half-double 
Peonies, fitting every whim in the choice of 
form for petaled things. There are, in 
general, two sorts of Peonies — the Herbaceous 
type and the Tree type. The former dies down 
at the end of each season but comes forth again 
with the advent of each spring. The latter 
type by reason of its woody stems may be 
classed with shrubs. 

Peonies massed in beds or in hedges yield 
an effective foliage display but at the expense 
of the profusion and prolongation of blossom- 
ing. For floral purposes they require that 
plenty of space should be left between the in- 
dividual plants. However, garden-makers can 
fill in these gaps with the Lilies of tall growth 
— Tiger Lily (Lilium tigrinum), etc., or with 
the tall growing Gladioli. 

The following planting directions will prove 
useful to the amateur Peony-grower: When 
planting Peonies, the crown of the stock should 
be placed some two inches below the surface 
of the soil. The fertilizer used in the beds 
should be well-rotted, as Peonies are gross 



PEONIES 51 

feeders. A top-dressing placed upon the 
plants in November and forked into the beds 
the following spring will be of much help 
in encouraging growth. Peonies appreciate 
a generous amount of water, especially in 
the period of their bloom. When dividing 
clumps, the division will be determined by 
the number of tubers with eyes. There 
should be as many divisions as there are eyes 
to the tubers. Tubers without eyes may also 
be planted, as they often shoot forth after a 
couple of years. As Peonies, when dormant, 
stand the exposure during shipment and stor- 
age remarkably well, the garden-beginner need 
have little fear of ordering plants from a dis- 
tance when that is necessary. I need not here 
touch upon the other two methods of Peony 
propagation, that of propagation by grafting 
and that of propagation by seeds, as only the 
professional garden-maker will be apt to start 
Peonies by either of these methods. For the 
garden of small extent the showy Pceonia 
officinalis, blooming in May and June, will 
be a welcome feature. The flowers are very 
large, dark crimson in color. Of the Pceonia 
albi flora (white through rose-color to crimson) , 






52 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

such varieties as Czarina (Rose), Festiva 
Maxima (White), Victoire Modeste Guerin 
(Rose), Duke of Wellington (White), Deli- 
catissima (Blush), Alba Sulphurea (White), 
and Humei Carnea (Blush) are recommended. 

Peonies should not be disturbed from year to 
year but their undivided clumps left to develop 
vigorous stalks. One sees the finest Peony 
blossoms on those plants which have not been 
moved about or which have not been removed 
and replaced in the process of dividing. Of 
this our old-time garden-makers were cogni- 
zant as the wonderful Peony clumps in their 
gardens that have come down to our keeping 
attest. 

I find the following varieties of Peonies very 
dependable and free blooming: Albatre, Cour- 
onne D'Or, Festiva Maxima (white), La 
Tulipe (pale rose to white), Claire Dubois 
(pink), Floral Treasure (rose), Madame 
Emile Lemoine (white), Livingstone (pink), 
Madame £mile Galle (white), Marguerite 
Gerard (pink), Monsieur Jules Elie (pink), 
Augustin D'Hour, Felix Crousse, La Grange, 
M. Barrel, M. Krelage and M. Martin Cahu- 
zac (red). 



IX 



GLADIOLI 



THAT the Gladiolus is one of the most 
beautiful of our summer-flowering 
plants every one knows, producing 
for us, as it does, every variety of shade and 
color combination. What few realize is the 
fact that Gladioli can be propagated as easily 
as the potato, and with no more trouble in the 
matter of winter storage. With the coming 
of every spring there are always so many things 
in the way of fruits, vegetables, shrubs, etc. to 
attend to that the expenditure one plans is apt 
to be claimed in the flurry of planting without 
thought of the Gladiolus. Yet with very little 
additional expense, work and patience one may 
have a garden full of Gladioli after all. 

Some of the seedsmen offer at a compara- 
tively low price per thousand the little one- 
year-old bulblets that need another season's 

53 



54 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

growth to produce mature flowering corms. 
One thousand of such bulblets will produce 
from seven to nine hundred mature flowering 
bulbs. 

If you have not been able to save all of the 
little bulbs you think you will need by a method 
described later in this chapter, order your 
additional supply from your seedsman early in 
February, and instruct him to ship these bulb- 
lets to you as soon as danger from frost is 
past. Do this with all your seeds, plants, and 
bulbs and the resulting increase in both the 
quantity and quality of the goods you get will 
be a revelation in prolific results. Most per- 
sons wait till the rush of planting time comes 
before they order, and then cannot understand 
why some things have been damaged in pack- 
ing or shipping. 

As early in Spring as the ground can be 
worked nicely, and as soon as all danger from 
heavy frost is past, prepare your seed-bed as 
you would prepare it for onion sets. Your 
infant Gladioli should be set out just as you 
would onion sets except that the rows must be 
from eighteen to twenty-four inches apart, 
and that the bulbs must be placed at least two 



GLADIOLI 55 

inches deep, and not more than half an inch 
apart in the row. Tend them carefully all 
summer, keeping all the weeds out. 

After the first heavy frost in the fall take 
up your bulbs and put them in trays to dry, 
leaving the tops on until they are thoroughly 
dried, when they should be cut off about one 
inch above the bulb. Next sack them care- 
fully, using a Number 3 or a Number 4 paper 
bag (such as those in which sugar comes from 
the grocer's), and putting two or three dozen 
bulbs in each bag. Tie the neck of the bags 
tightly, leaving a surplus of cord from which 
a loop should be made by which the bag is sus- 
pended from a nail in the rafters of the vege- 
table cellar. There they are to be left until 
spring. Great care must be taken during these 
latter stages to prevent bruising; every bruise 
means a rotted bulb in consequence. 

It is at the base of these larger bulbs that 
the bulblets grow. A two-year-old bulb has 
clustering around it a large number of the 
smaller ones, sometimes from thirty-five to 
fifty. If you have grown Gladioli previously 
it will not be necessary for you to buy the small 
bulbs as you may save those adhering to the 



56 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

bulbs which have flowered the last season. Re- 
move the bulblets, place in separate trays, and 
as soon as they are dry store them just as you 
did the larger ones except that two or three 
hundred are put in each bag. It is not advis- 
able to put a larger number in a bag as they are 
apt to pack and heat, thus losing their vitality. 
Care and patience are necessary if you would 
save all of these little bulbs at harvest time on 
account of their small size and the fact that 
they do not adhere to the parent bulb very 
firmly. 

By this method, of course, only existing 
varieties may be perpetuated. If one desires 
to carry his experiments farther afield and into 
the fascinating realm of hybridization, he 
may buy seeds from the seedsman or may carry 
pollen from one plant to another in his own 
garden by means of a camel's hair or red sable 
brush. It will, however, be necessary to wait 
an additional year for blossoms from seed. 

After the seed has been secured, and about 
the early part of March, prepare flats as you 
would for any other delicate seedling. Plant 
the seed in rows, cover with about one-sixteenth 
of an inch of potting soil. Then cover each 



GLADIOLI 57 

flat with a pane of glass until germination has 
taken place, after which remove the glass and 
place the flats in the full sunlight, taking care, 
however, to keep the temperature at about 70° 
during the day and 55° at night. 

When the second pair of leaves appears, 
prick out into the greenhouse bench or cold- 
frame and transplant to nursery rows as soon 
as conditions out-of-doors are favorable. 

In the fall treat the seedlings as you did the 
bulblets, planting them in nursery rows the 
second season. They will flower the third sea- 
son and may be set out in your regular beds 
at that time unless you object to an indiscrim- 
inate riot of color in contrasting shades. In 
that case plant again in nursery rows and label 
each bulb as it blooms. 

A good way to do this is to group the crim- 
sons, scarlets, pinks, etc., numbering the differ- 
ent groups "1", "2", "3", etc., putting a label 
with the number of the group to which it be- 
longs opposite each bulb. In the fall they can 
be placed in bags and the bags numbered to 
correspond. Of course any especially desirable 
bulb may have a distinctive mark and name and 
be kept separate. 



58 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

The Gladiolus is one of the most useful flow- 
ers for fine color effects. You may have the 
Salem for salmon pink, the Augusta for pure 
white, the Madame Monneret for delicate rose, 
the Nezinscott for bright scarlet, the Sellew 
for crimson, the Canary Bird for yellow, and 
so on through almost any shade. 




Photo by Nathan R. Graves Co. 
A TULIP BORDER IS NATURE'S MOST GORGEOUS GIFT 



X 



BULBS IN THE GARDEN 

MY little garden would not seem a 
garden were the lovely Snow- 
drops, Crocus, Daffodils, Jon- 
quils, Hyacinths, Narcissi and Tulips to bloom 
therein no more! "It is not merely the multi- 
plicity of tints," said Novalis, "the gladness 
of tone, or the balminess of the air which de- 
light in the spring; it is the still consecrated 
spirit of hope, the prophecy of happy days to 
come; the endless variety of Nature, with pre- 
sentiments of eternal flowers which never shall 
fade, and sympathy with the blessedness of 
the ever-developing world." This garden of 
the first flowers of springtime seems to be like 
the rainbow in the heavens. 

"In hues of ancient promise, there imprest; 
Frail in its date, eternal in its guise." 

59 



60 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

And how much of Spring we miss if we have 
neglected to plant bulbs in our gardens! It 
was Lucy Larcom who wrote 

"All flowers of Spring are not May's own; 
The Crocus cannot often kiss her; 
The Snow-drop, ere she comes, has flown — 
The earliest Violets always miss her." 

These exquisite flowers are the first to re- 
mind us of the season which, in the words of 
Thoreau, is a natural resurrection, an expe- 
rience of immortality. 

The garden-lover who would have a few 
bulbs for the season to come will find Octo- 
ber's days giving him opportunity for putting 
them into the soil before the heavy frosts 
strike into the earth. Snowdrops and Squills 
will be the first to peep up with the Crocus 
fast on their heels. Then Daffodils "that 
co:ne before the swallows dare and take the 
winds of March with beauty" and Golden Jon- 
quils and the Hyacinth and Narcissi will fol- 
low in order with Tulips last. It is well to get 
the best bulbs procurable, selecting them your- 
self, if possible, and planting them early. 



BULBS IN THE GARDEN 61 

Solid "plump" bulbs are the ones to select. 
Only firm bulbs should be accepted. By 
"plump" one does not necessarily mean bulbs 
of unusual size. A good plan to follow is to 
plant both large and small bulbs of a sort at 
the same time for the small bulbs will develop 
and be productive when the older, larger bulbs 
will have given way to their progeny. 

Almost every spot in the little garden may 
be utilized for bulb planting and as long as 
the purse holds out there will probably seem 
places for more ! The Daffodils, Jonquils and 
Narcissi lend themselves well to remaining in 
the ground year after year and these develop 
their own little "neighborhoods," as it were, 
while Tulips should be taken up every year, 
in the spring when their leaves have withered 
and dried off, stored away in a dark cold place 
where neither frost nor mice can reach then. 
The hardy Lily bulbs must not be moved at all. 

Bulbs will thrive in almost any soil. This 
is particularly true of bulbs that are lifted in 
the spring and reset in the autumn. While 
there is no hard fast rule to observe regarding 
the depth to which bulbs should be pknted, 
their tops should be placed below the surface of 



62 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

the soil a distance of about one and a half or 
twice the measurement of their thickness 
through. A variation of depth in separate 
bulbs of a sort will nearly always produce a 
slight variation of time in blossoming. This 
procedure forms an interesting experiment. 
Naturally the bulbs should be placed right side 
up ! The earth placed around them should be 
free from lumps and carefully firmed down, 
for the bulbs must be securely set for protec- 
tion. Loosely planted bulbs seldom thrive. 
The newly planted bulbs will take root growth 
through the cool late autumn season. If 
planted too early their top growth would ad- 
vance to a point that would subject them to 
an injury from frost. Lily bulbs (such as 
those of Auratum and Speciosum) may go 
into the ground late in August or in Septem- 
ber. The garden-maker must be guided in 
these matters as in others by an intuitive sense 
of the fitness and advancement of the season. 
Right after the first hard freeze a winter mulch 
of several inches of dry leaves or boy hay 
should be given as a protection to those por- 
tions of the garden where bulbs have been set 
out. They will, of course, have been marked 



BULBS IN THE GARDEN 63 

by label stakes. When Spring comes round 
the mulch should not be removed all at once, 
but a layer at a time, with intervening days. 

Bulbs which are planted in the lawn for nat- 
uralized effects will, of course, require to be 
carefully handled when they spring up with 
Winter's departure as careless raking, and cer- 
tainly early lawn-mowing, will prevent their 
blossoming. Snowdrops, Squills and Cro- 
cus are favorites for naturalized planting. 
Narcissi, to my mind, are loveliest of all where 
late, tall grasses are allowed to grow. 

Of the Tulips the Darwin varieties have 
come into great popularity in recent years. 
These and the May-flowering Tulip are late 
bloomers. For early Tulips those comprising 
the Due Van Thol section — crimson, scarlet, 
white, pink, striped yellow and variegated — 
are to be recommended. The grotesque 
Dragon type of Tulips are interesting with 
their laciniated petals and the new tall varie- 
ties should not be overlooked. 

Narcissi present several distinct types, prop- 
erly including as they do, the Jonquil and the 
Daffodil, the Poet's Narcissus (single flower to 
the stem) and the Polyanthus type, bunch 



64 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

flowered. Once the garden-lover delves into 
the love of bulb flowers and extends the hos- 
pitality of his garden to their loveliness he will 
have another joy added to his experience. 




Photo by Nathan R. Graves Co. 



FRAGRANT SNOWY HYACINTHS ARE SPRING S MOST PERFECT 
GARDEN GIFT 



XI 

THE HYACINTH 

EVER since the lovely Hyacinth was in- 
troduced by seedlings and hybrids 
from the Oriental Hyacinth {Hya- 
cinthus orientalis) of the Levant, as long ago 
as the year 1590, it has held a warm spot in 
the hearts of all garden-lovers, not alone in the 
affections of the Dutch florists, who have 
brought it to such perfection, but quite as much 
in those of American amateurs, who have found 
it a flower of surpassing beauty, color and 
fragrance in the early Spring garden. Like- 
wise, the Hyacinth has come to be one of the 
favorite bulb plants for indoor bloom — prob- 
ably the most popular one of all. 

Of Hyacinths there are many varieties, from 
the exquisite little Amethyst Hyacinth of Eu- 
rope, with its brilliant azure of pellucid hue 
and its exquisite fragrance, to the great, fat, 

65 



66 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

wonderful ones that have helped to make the 
gardens of Holland famous and gorgeous. 
There is not a more beautiful flowering bulb 
to be found for the purpose of planting for 
naturalistic effects for lawn, field, meadow, 
wood, hillside or rockery. The traveler in Eu- 
rope finds joyous delight in coming upon the 
Hyacinth in its native haunts. One will find 
it in Greece and in Sicily, and sometimes in 
Capri, wild upon the mountain-top. The 
flower takes its name from Hyacinthus, son 
of the Spartan king, Amyclas, who was killed 
when playing quoits with the god Zephyrus, 
through the treachery of the jealous Apollo. 
The old Greek legend has it that from the 
blood of Hyacinthus there sprang up a flower 
to bear his name, on the leaves of which ap- 
peared the exclamation of woe, AI, AI. There 
is no reason why we should feel that we live 
in so practical an age that while we busy our- 
selves with the prose of flowers we have not 
time for the poetry of their love. Indeed, it 
is hard to understand how any one who loves 
a garden and the plants therein can fail to take 
an interest in everything, legendary or other- 
wise, pertaining to each of them. 



THE HYACINTH 67 

Single Hyacinths invariably succeed better, 
although many amateurs are just as success- 
ful in raising double ones. Whites, blues, 
pinks, reds, purples, and creamy yellows are 
the colors of the Hyacinth, but of them all the 
white is the most beautiful, though amateur 
gardeners are apt to make the mistake of pass- 
ing it up for the more showy varieties. 

This is a great mistake, for there never yet 
existed a bed, or border, or grouping of col- 
ored Hyacinths that could afford to be with- 
out the snowy purity of the white flowers, 
lending just that note of contrast that one 
needs to find in every bulb garden. If one 
looks for mere color effect in massing, the 
dumpy, short-stalked, "thick" double varieties 
of Hyacinths may be employed. Their colors 
are varied and lovely, and their fragrance per- 
meating; but they quite lack the exquisite 
beauty of the single varieties. 

Fortunately, Hyacinths may be planted 
late, even into November. One recommends 
fresh bulbs each year, but that is not abso- 
lutely necessary, though they must, in any 
event, be "lifted" in May, after they cease 
flowering. The finer bulbs send up flowered 



68 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

spikes from ten to fifteen inches in height. 
Hyacinths should be planted eight inches apart 
and about five inches deep. Hyacinths should 
be placed in the earth upon a little thin bed of 
sand below the bulbs, and after being covered 
with earth, should have the further protection 
of a mulch, of either manurial dressing or 
leaves. Evergreen boughs (cedars and bal- 
sams) make a good covering throughout a se- 
vere winter. When spring arrives the mulch 
should be removed, not all at once, but gradu- 
ally, so the earth below, which comes in con- 
tact with the bulbs, will not be chilled too sud- 
denly. 

Hyacinths for indoors may be started in 
deep pots in November. The best potting soil 
I have experimented with has been composed 
of a compost prepared of one part of rich 
loam, one part of thoroughly decomposed 
barnyard manure, and one-half part clean, 
coarse sand. The bulb crowns should be left 
about half an inch above the surface of the 
soil, and the root end should rest upon a base 
of charcoal-covered potsherds. Press down the 
soil firmly around the bulb and wet it thor- 
oughly. Either "plunge" the pots or set them 



THE HYACINTH 69 

safely away in a dark, warm place, where the 
soil may be kept fairly damp. 

When the bulbs are firmly rooted (one may 
tell by turning out a sample pot for examina- 
tion) bring them to the light. The whitish- 
green shoot, an inch or so in height, will soon 
darken in color and will grow with great ra- 
pidity, a few weeks' time bringing forth the 
flower spike. Hyacinths require liberal water- 
ing when brought forth from their seclusion. 
It is possible to grow Hyacinths in pure sand, 
if this has been washed to free it from salt. 
The Hyacinth-glasses, to be found at every 
nurseryman's or every florist's, are devised for 
the purpose of growing Hyacinths in water. 
In experimenting I have found it a most sat- 
isfactory method to keep the bulbs in damp- 
ened moss for a preliminary period of two 
weeks, placing the bulbs then on top of the 
water-filled Hyacinth-glasses. This can be 
done in a succession of weeks in November, and 
will produce a succession of bloom. Remem- 
ber, that the water should just touch the lower 
part of the Hyacinth bulb, and rain-water 
should be used for the purpose when it is pos- 
sible to obtain it, changing it every ten days 



70 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

and carefully supplying any deficiency caused 
by evaporating in the interval. The bulbs 
placed in Hyacinth-glasses must be kept in 
some warm, dark place until the glass is half 
filled with roots. Great care must also be 
taken that the water in changing be the same 
temperature as that of which it takes the place. 
The water must never be too cold. 

There is not much to be said about the mat- 
ter of choosing Hyacinth bulbs, but the little 
that is to be said is of great importance. One 
should remember bulbs must be chosen not for 
size, but for hardness and solidity, and the 
bases must be thoroughly sound. Medium 
sized, firm, hard and heavy bulbs are always 
to be chosen for planting. 

HYACINTH VARIETIES 

The following varieties of Hyacinths may 
be recommended to the garden-maker. 
White: Alba Superbissima, Mme. Vander- 
hoop, La Grandesse, Prince of Waterloo 
(double), and Baroness Van Thuyl; pink: 
Fabriola and Norma; reds: Robert Stieger, 
Gertrude, Roi des Beiges and Lord Welling- 



THE HYACINTH 71 

ton (double) ; blue: Leonidas, La Peyrouse, 
King of the Blues, Czar Peter, Grand Lilac, 
Baron Van Thuyl and Charles Dickens 
(double). La Peyrouse is a very light blue, 
and the Baron Van Thuyl very dark. Of the 
yellow varieties, the King of the Yellows and 
the Ida are among the most satisfactory. The 
Hyacinths known as Roman Hyacinths are 
usually sold by color and not by name at the 
florist's, for these Roman Hyacinths are not 
distinct varieties, but miniature species of 
some of the above. The Cape Hyacinth, with 
its bell-shaped flowers an inch long, is also 
fragrant and attractive, and the Grape Hya- 
cinth (Muscari botryoides) , blossoming in 
April, finds its best variety in the Heavenly 
Blue, though it is also to be found in white va- 
rieties, as is the Wood Hyacinth (S cilia f es- 
tates), which last is excellent for naturalizing, 
and closely resembles the more prominent 
Hyacinth of the bulb beds, though its spikes 
are more loose and have not so many flowers. 



XII 



A PEKSIAN GARDEN 



IN a quiet corner of the land — just where 
I may not tell you ! — a little garden nes- 
tles by the side of a gently flowing 
stream, whose clear, rippling music is only lost 
when it meets the slow old river below, where 
low-bending willow-trees whisper their dirges 
to the waters. Above the little garden a long 
row of yews touches a hedge, the other side of 
which is reached by a stile. And if one fol- 
lows this hedge to the right, he will be led into 
a grove of sycamores, whence a winding path 
leads to a stone wall with gate exactly front- 
ing the side of a picturesque, old-world look- 
ing cottage of stone. A turn in the river forms 
the nearest boundary of the premises, but the 
land which surrounds this cottage, extends at 
least three-quarters of a mile in every direc- 
tion. In front a noble line of elms borders 

72 




PLAN OF A PERSIAN GARDEN 



A PERSIAN GARDEN 73 

each side of the long diverging avenue, an ave- 
nue that ends by the quaint gardener's cottage 
nearly hidden in a raiment of ivy which springs 
up at the very foot of great borders of Gera- 
niums, flaming in their season. 

Few other than its owner's intimates, and 
the children of the village, have had the good 
fortune to stroll within these gates. The 
vigilant 'Arrington, a massive gardener with 
a mighty manner, turns deaf ear to all others, 
despite repeated orders to the contrary; for 
it must not be imagined that the cottage har- 
bors a disagreeable individual who desires no 
communion with strangers. Not at all. It 
is inhabited by a scholarly gentleman beloved 
throughout the country because of his generous 
philanthropy. But the weight of his years de- 
mands a certain quiet, a fact unsuspected by 
him, but which 'Arrington sedulously makes 
certain. 

The leisure of this gentleman's vie de celt- 
bataire enables him to follow unhindered the 
ardor of his own enthusiasm for garden-mak- 
ing. Others have been content with one gar- 
den, or with several, but he has many, and fitly 
might the goddess Flora and the goddess 



74 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

Pomona have regarded this acreage as a tem- 
ple grove planted and tended to their worship. 

I shall tell you of but one of these gardens. 
Two stone walls running from hedge to stream 
form the sides of the inclosure. As one en- 
ters through an arch in the center of the hedge 
— an arch that might have been copied from 
some old Persian miniature — there is no mis- 
taking this little spot for other than an Omar 
Khayyam garden, which is confirmed by the 
various inscriptions composed of rubai from 
the Tent-maker's own poesy. 

A wide marble walk from the gardener's 
entrance crosses another like it, but not so wide, 
at the center, where seven low broad steps of 
white marble all around form the support of 
the sandstone pedestal, surmounted by a bronze 
sundial. Its inscription reads: 

"The Bird of Time has but little way 
To fly — and lo! the bird is on the wing." 

The marble walk is bordered with beds of 
gorgeous Tulips and Hyacinths, and by the 
Roses a marble column bears on its shaft these 
lines : 



A PERSIAN GARDEN 75 

"I sometimes think that never blows so red 
The Rose as where some buried Caesar bled, 

That every Hyacinth the Garden wears 
Dropt in her lap from some once lovely Head." 

An interesting floral allusion in this garden 
is a fringe of the purple Pasque Flower 
(Anemone Pulsatilla), sent thither from 
Fleam Dyke near Cambridge where once it 
grew plentifully, and I guessed rightly that 
the owner of this garden intended these flowers 
to suggest a parallel to Omar's Roses, remem- 
bering, as I did, that the Pasque Flower grows 
on English soil only, where Danish blood has 
been spilt. 

Back of these beds Hawthorn trees form 
lines to the stream and across the garden. 

"Now the New Year reviving old Desires, 
The thoughtful Soul to Solitude retires, 
Where the white hand of Moses on the 
Bough 
Puts out, and Jems from the ground suspires." 

I have seen them in all the purity of their 
white blossoming bringing back to mind the 



76 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

words in Exodus. The central walk drops 
into the stream with its third step. 

"And this reviving Herb whose tender green 
Fledges the river-lip on which we lean — 

Oh, lean upon it lightly! for who knows, 
From what once lovely lip it spring unseen!" 

Perhaps this "reviving Herb" of which old 
Omar sings was the Dandelion, which every 
one who has traveled in Persia will remember 
to have seen there resting its gold crowns on 
the cushion-banks of every Persian water- 
course, glittering reminders of home. To 
make sure, Dandelions are here, but this gar- 
den's owner has taken another interpretation 
so far as his fancy for arrangement is con- 
cerned and there I found Violets by the river- 
side instead of the Dandelions: 

"The Violets by this river grow, 

Sprung from some lip here buried long ago. 

Ah, tread there lightly on this tender green — 
Who sleepeth here so still thou ne'er will 
know." 

The air of a Springtime morning is here 
laden with the exquisite perfume of those Vio- 



A PERSIAN GARDEN 771 

lets, the memory of which even the later Roses 
does not usurp. They enrich the silken sod 
with their precious amethystine embroidery 
and they lift their dear eyes to the blue 
heavens. 

Just where the wall meets the stream on 
either side rise minarets of formal cypresses. 
In another garden they would, perhaps, have 
seemed misplaced, or tantalized by Marigolds, 
or have seemed too sorrowful for riot of frolic- 
some Phlox. But here they are proud of their 
rubdi, and the stone garden-bench in the cool- 
ness of their shadows is inscribed: 

"Do you, within your little hour of grace, 
The waving Cypress in your arms enlace, 
Before the mother back into her arms 
Fold, and dissolve you in a last embrace." 

The wild grape here runs riot over the gar- 
den-walls, against whose bases great terra- 
cotta oil- jars are placed. They might have 
come from old Sarmacand! But now they 
hold the most precious things in the garden — 
Roses brought from Naishapur. On one of 
these jars this rubai is incised: 



78 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

"Shapes of all sorts and sizes, great and small, 
That stood along the floor and by the wall; 
And some loquacious Vessels were; and 
some 
Listened perhaps, but never talked at all. 

From the center of the other wall a foun- 
tain gurgles forth its cooling waters, which dis- 
appear again in a porphyry basin. Around it 
the grapevines cling; yet one can make out 

"Waste not your Hour, nor in the vain pursuit 
Of this and that endeavor and dispute, 

Better be jocund with the fruitful grape 
Than sadden after none, or bitter, fruit." 

adorning a bit of the treillage. 

A bed of late Tulips stretches before the 
fountain, and in their season you will find by 
the fountain a cup inscribed with this quatrain : 

"As then the Tulip for her morning sup 

Of Heav'nly vintage from the Soil looks up, 

Do you devoutly do the like, till Heav'n 
To Earth invert you — like an empty cup." 

Everywhere else are Roses and Grapevines, 
— white, red and yellow Roses to glorify the 



A PERSIAN GARDEN 79 

Junes that come and go in this fair garden, 
great clusters of white and purple grapes 
which ripen with the early frosts. First the 
Hyacinths and the Tulips awaken the garden ; 
then the Hawthorn blossoms greet the Violets. 
After that this little paradise is a gorgeous 
Rose garden, making early summer and again 
the early autumn glisten with their jewels. 
When the sweet Rose-leaves have been wafted 
afar by autumn winds — perhaps to some 
Naishapur; who knows! — the purpling fruit 
of the Vine lends color rich and harmonious 
the last yellowed leaves of yonder old Chest- 
nut tree are blown into the garden to mantle 
it with tapestry of rich brocade. Ah, what a 
tree! Beneath its noble branches, branches 
that have known two centuries, is a rustic seat 
and there one reads: 

"A jug of Wine, a loaf of Bread — and Thou 
Beside me singing in the wilderness — 
Oh, wilderness were Paradise enow!" 

And when one leaves this little garden there 
come to mind the words of Kisai, Kisai who 
lived before Omar saw light of day: 



80 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

"The Rose is a gift of Eden's bower, 
Our minds in garden grow nobler far; 

Why does this Rose-dealer sell his flower? 
What is more precious than Roses are?" 



XIII 

THE INDOOR GARDEN 

THE choice of plants for the indoor 
garden is dependent upon many- 
things. There are house plants 
which require a high temperature, others which 
thrive better with less heat, plants which re- 
quire an abundance of direct sunlight and 
which will not flourish a day without it, and 
other plants which do very nicely under less 
exacting conditions. Recently a revival of in- 
terest has been shown in indoor gardening. 
The old-fashioned plan of filling a window so 
full of plants that the glass was almost com- 
pletely hidden by them has long since passed 
away. Surely with indoor gardens, as with 
everything else, a sense of disproportion is not 
a thing to be desired, or, in these days of an 
advanced knowledge of things artistic, to be 
tolerated. Nothing could be more out of 

81 



82 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

keeping with harmony in decoration than a 
window full to overflowing of house plants of 
all descriptions, set in nondescript receptacles. 
The modern house decorator has learned to 
avoid any such atrocious arrangements, and 
seeks to select plants for indoors with care- 
ful thought as to the details of foliage, flower, 
contrast and suitability. For instance, one 
would not place fine-leaved and coarse-leaved 
plants in close proximity where the effect of 
contrast was not desired, nor would one place 
a delicately foliated plant in a room so stern 
and formal that the plant might seem like 
a stranded exotic. Again, scarlet-flowered 
plants would hardly be in keeping with a room 
decorated with crimson wall paper or hang- 
ings ! nor would it be well to place plants, such 
as the Tuberose or the Oleander, whose flowers 
are strongly scented, in a very small room, as 
their fragrance is oppressive in the confined 
atmosphere of a small space. Musk is so of- 
fensive to many persons that, lovely little plant 
that it is, it would be well perhaps to omit it 
from the indoor garden list. On the other 
hand, there are plants whose flowers, though 
they exhale a pronounced fragrance, are not 



THE INDOOR GARDEN 83 

objectionable, for, while their perfume is pene- 
trating, it is delicate. In this class of house- 
plants may be listed the Hyacinth, the Nar- 
cissus, the Rose and the Lemon Verbena. 

When choosing plants for indoor use it is 
well to select some that will bloom continually, 
so that there will not be the unhappy contrast 
of a long no-flowering period following luxuri- 
ous bloom. Many houseplants are chosen for 
the beauty of their foliage alone, and when this 
is the case they should be displayed in the most 
effective manner possible. They should not 
be. so placed as to screen the clusters of a Ge- 
ranium, the blossom of a Rose or the flower of 
a Camellia. It is also a great mistake to so 
arrange indoor plants that, though possessing 
a decorative appearance from the outside, they 
present anything but an attractive note as re- 
gards the decorative scheme of the interior. 

Broadly speaking, plants for indoors may be 
divided into two classes — flowering plants and 
plants selected for the beauty of their foliage. 
Occasionally beautiful flowers and foliage are 
offered by the same plant, as, for instance, the 
lovely waxen-leaved and pink-flowered Be- 
gonia. 



84 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

Then, too, there are plants found in the in- 
door garden which are cultivated more as curi- 
osities of the vegetable kingdom than as units 
of beauty. Under this head would come, of 
course, the Ice Plant, the various spiney Cacti 
and also the "Hen-and-Chickens" plant. 
There will always be those botanically inclined 
who will take a great interest in such curiosi- 
ties of the vegetable kingdom, but these plants 
need not be taken into more than passing con- 
sideration by the one who selects plants to help 
in carrying out a decorative scheme which may 
depend upon floral or foliage features to infuse 
it with that vestige of naturalness that so often 
saves the inanimate from becoming oppressive. 

Following is a list of plants for indoor gar- 
dens from which selections may be made : Ca- 
mellia, Daphne, Azalea, Cyclamen, Geranium, 
Heliotrope, Rose, Fuchsia, Myrtle, Abutilon, 
Calla Lily, Cuphea, Oleander, Jasmine, 
Solanum (Jerusalem Cherry), Lemon Ver- 
bena, Hoya (Wax Plant), Begonia, Oxalis, 
Amaryllis, Hyacinth, Tulip, Daffodil, Narcis- 
sus, Primrose, Cineraria, Stock, Wallflower, 
Gloxiana, Pelargonium, Marguerite, Petunia, 
Francoa (Bridal Wreath) and Amazon Lily 



THE INDOOR GARDEN 85 

(Eucharis Amazonica) among the flowering 
plants. Of course, there are other indoor 
house plants, but those mentioned above are 
most generally cultivated. As the Hyacinth, 
the Narcissus, the Tulip, the Daffodil and the 
Jonquil are bulb plants they are to be consid- 
ered for the flowers only, and not at all for the 
foliage, in so far as permanency is concerned. 
The Camellia, the Cineraria, the Azalea and 
the Cuphea had best be chosen only by those 
who have hothouses or conservatories. 

A list of ideal flowering plants, easily grown 
indoors, includes the Geranium, Oxalia, 
Fuchsia, Heliotrope, Abutilon, Begonia, Prim- 
rose and Cyclamen. These, as permanent 
floral "lares and penates," may be augmented 
from time to time throughout the various sea- 
sons by forced greenhouse plants in full bloom, 
added for their immediate effectiveness and 
display qualities. 

The Geranium is discussed in a later chap- 
ter, but one may here remind the indoor gar- 
den-maker that in buying plants only such as 
look strong, stocky, and healthy should be se- 
lected. Lank spindley plants should be re- 
fused. By "pinching" the plants may be kept 



86 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

bushy. As a general thing zonal Geraniums 
are free from insect pests, although all yellow 
leaves should be removed. 

The Oxalis is easily grown, and is well 
known by reason of the shamrock-shaped leaf. 
The Oxalis Floribunda with its rose-colored 
flowers, is the best for the indoor garden. 

The Fuchsia is an old-time favorite, beau- 
tiful in leaf and graceful in flower, though its 
true blossoming season is in summer. Fuchsia 
culture is not difficult, and although it is prone 
to bud-dropping, this can be prevented if the 
watering is carefully attended to. There are 
both double and single varieties. 

Heliotrope is also known to every one, and 
is one of the delights of the indoor garden. 
There are a number of varieties to select from. 
If "pinching" is attended to the plants may be 
kept compact, although it is often as lovely if 
allowed to ramble. The old-fashioned Helio- 
trope, Heliotropum Peruvianum, is the sweet- 
est and most floriferous. Abutilon, the well- 
known Flowering Maple, requires plenty of 
light and water in summer, but not nearly so 
much in winter. Finally, the Begonia is to be 
considered. There are many varieties of this 



THE INDOOR GARDEN 87 

perennially popular house-plant. Without 
doubt the best winter Begonia is the exquisite 
Gloire de Lorraine, which produces an abun- 
dance of pink flowers above its attractive 
waxen green foliage. It will thrive in a tem- 
perature as low as 65 degrees F. The Gloire 
de Scealux is another beautiful pink Begonia. 
The Rex Begonia is the most popular indoor 
foliage plant, if we except the Boston Fern. 

THE CARE OF HOUSEPLANTS 

Although it is true that nearly all house- 
plants are subject to visitations of injurious 
insects, and to plant diseases, these enemies of 
the window garden can easily be overcome if 
you will give some little study to the matter 
in order to learn what foes are the most for- 
midable and how to deal with them. Indeed, 
success at indoor gardening is greatly depend- 
ent upon knowledge of this sort, which every 
one may easily obtain by heeding the follow- 
ing hints and suggestions, and by carefully ex- 
amining every plant in the window from time 
to time in order to note the first appearance 
of its foes. 



88 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

Insects injurious to houseplants usually 
make their appearance with the coming of the 
young plant shoots. And it is then that you 
must commence to look for them in order that 
they may be dealt with summarily before they 
increase, as they invariably do with marvelous 
rapidity, often to the utter discouragement of 
the indoor gardener. 

Diseases of houseplants, such as mildew, 
which arise from injudicious watering, drought 
and drafts, show themselves when present. 
This is also true of fungi. Mildew is most apt 
to attack young shoots and new foliage. 
When the leaves turn a sickly yellow, the roots 
of the plant should be examined as the trouble 
may lie there; if you do not find anything 
wrong with the roots, try repotting the plant 
in fresh soil, and it will then probably regain 
its old freshness. 

Aphids are the most troublesome insects to 
be found bothering houseplants; then there 
are the mealy bug, red spider, scale, earth- 
worm, slug, leaf mining maggot, thrips and 
wood lice. 

These aphids, or plant bee, as they are com- 
monly called, are tiny light or dark green flies, 



THE INDOOR GARDEN 89 

for in one stage in their metamorphosis, they 
have wings. The green colored species pre- 
vails upon the indoor plants. One remedy for 
plants bothered by aphids is to fumigate them 
with the smoke of burning tobacco. Any one 
can make a fumigator with an old barrel, plac- 
ing under it a tripod for the plant to rest upon, 
and under that a pan with the burning tobacco. 
Of course the infected plant must not be left 
long in the fumigator, or it would have a speed- 
ier end than even its aphid enemy could bring 
it to. Before fumigating, be sure the leaves 
of the plant are dry. Prepared tobacco paper 
for fumigating purposes may be obtained from 
almost any dealer in garden supplies. Do not, 
as a rule, fumigate plants that are in blossom ; 
their insect enemies should not have been per- 
mitted to remain so long upon them. You 
may find it necessary to give house plants sev- 
eral fumigations, but do not overdo the mat- 
ter. The morning after the plant has been 
fumigated, carefully syringe its leaves with 
tepid rain-water. The green aphid is fre- 
quently the main enemy of indoor ferns, par- 
ticularly the lovely Pteris adiantoides. 

The mealy bug appears on houseplants in 



90 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

a small mass of white, which looks "cottony." 
It is a most difficult plant pest to overcome, 
and an insecticide diluted with lukewarm water 
is advised for destroying it. This should be 
applied with a plant syringe. Three table- 
spoonfuls of petroleum to three gallons of 
soapy water makes an excellent insecticide for 
exterminating mealy bugs. The solution must 
be kept well mixed by frequent shakings while 
in use, and then applied carefully. This treat- 
ment is suitable for large plants; small plants 
can be freed from mealy bugs by frequent 
cleansings with a sponge dipped in soapy 
water. Whale-oil soap is best to use in spray- 
ing and washing solutions. 

The red spider is a minute insect pest which 
dry, hot rooms tend to bring forth. Also lack 
of water at the roots of potted plants makes 
them fall easy prey to this tiny enemy. Fre- 
quent washing and syringing are excellent pre- 
ventives, and when once this destructive insect 
appears upon a plant, it should be sprayed 
with the insecticide recommended above for 
mealy bugs. 

The common scale (Lecanium) is similar to 
the aphid, and it frequently attacks Oleanders, 



THE INDOOR GARDEN 91 

Camellias, Oranges and like plants. Sponge 
any plants attacked by it with a solution of 
whale-oil soap and do this unceasingly, for al- 
though a tedious process, assiduous sponging 
alone will eradicate the pest. Let the water be 
lukewarm, as warm soap-suds will finally con- 
quer this troublesome insect foe. 

When earthworms are in the potting soil, 
they cause considerable damage to the roots 
of houseplants. A good way to remove earth- 
worms (their presence may be detected by ob- 
serving the globular masses of excrement they 
deposit on the surface of the soil) is to plunge 
the flower-pots in lime-water as far as the 
brims. In a short time the earthworms will 
push to the top and may be removed by hand. 

Plants procured from the greenhouse often 
introduce slugs into the window garden. They 
should be watched for carefully and trapped 
by putting a piece of raw potato, thinly sliced, 
on the top soil. This will attract the slugs, 
and they may then be picked off. Also look 
among the plants at night, for then slugs co:rte 
forth from their hiding-places. 

The leaf -mining maggot is the larva of a 
.small fly, and bores into the leaves of such 



92 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

plants as the Cineraria and the Marguerite, 
greatly disfiguring them. Cut off and burn 
badly infested leaves, and destroy each remain- 
ing maggot to be found. This process re- 
quires much patience, but houseplants at- 
tacked by this pest can still be saved. Thrips, 
like the red spider, are apt to appear on plants 
that suffer from insufficient watering. As 
water is one of the best discouragers of attacks 
on houseplants from their enemies, you are ad- 
vised that frequent leaf washing is one of the 
best preventives for the insect pest, thrips. 
When once thrips appear, treat your plants 
as you would when infested with red spiders, 
as suggested above, and you should have no 
further trouble. 

Differing from insect foes are fungoid 
pests; mildew is the only one that is likely to 
attack plants ordinarily to be met with in in- 
door gardens, excepting the greenhouse or con- 
servatory. 

The Rose is the principal houseplant that 
suffers from the ravages of mildew. Sudden, 
decided changes of temperature, or cold drafts 
in the room, will bring out upon the leaves 
small, white fungoid patches. To check the 



THE INDOOR GARDEN 93 

spread of mildew, dust plants that are affected 
by it with flowers of sulphur. 

While all known houseplant enemies have 
not been enumerated above, those commonly 
met with have, and the means of combating 
them here described are the result of practical 
experiences. Therefore the window-gardener 
may have at hand for ready reference these 
various suggestions of a practical nature that 
will, it is hoped, awaken a wider interest in the 
necessity of studying the matter if you would 
have an indoor garden of healthy, beautiful 
plants. 

One of the greatest enemies known to indoor 
flowers is dry heat, and plants should never be 
set near a radiator. Rubber plants and palms 
are very apt to dry up and their leaves will 
crack. Much of this condition can be arrested 
by washing the leaves once a week with a 
sponge wet with milk. There seems to be just 
enough grease in the milk to feed the leaves, 
and it will be found an added help to pour 
either olive or castor oil on the roots of these 
plants once every fortnight. 

It must also be remembered that plants may 
be as greatly injured by too much water as by 



94. A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

too little. Give them plenty of water, but only 
when they need it. To tell when a plant needs 
watering, knock the side of the pot with your 
knuckles. If the sound is dull the soil has 
water enough in it. If the sound is hollow the 
soil is dry. 

When there is any doubt about whether the 
plant needs more water or not, pour the water 
into the saucer. The water will be taken up 
by the roots if the plant needs it. 



XIV 

EVERGREENS AND FERNS FOR INDOORS 

WHILE nearly all of the plants in 
the window-garden retain their fo- 
liage, in effect, the year round, a 
certain number of them actually do, and this 
class of Evergreen houseplants deserves con- 
sideration by itself, as indoor Evergreens are 
not so widely known as they should be, nor are 
they as often found among houseplants as 
they deserve to be. Aside from their place 
near flowering window-plants, indoor Ever- 
greens lend themselves to table decoration, and 
being especially suitable plants for hall and 
stairway, are most useful in arranging decora- 
tive effects when the house is being made ready 
for some festal occasion. The most interesting 
Evergreens of the indoor class are, perhaps, 
the Araucarias, the most easily obtainable spe- 
cies being Araucaria excelsa, better known by 
its common name, the Norfolk Island Pine. 

95 



96 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

This distinctive plant is, in reality, a little tree 
of coniferous habits, quite as lovely though not 
so unusual and curious, as some of the dwarf 
Japanese trees that have become more or less 
the fashion. Its branches radiate like the 
spokes of a wheel from the central stem, and 
its rich, spiny foliage is a dark yellow-green. It 
is the most symmetrical of the indoor Ever- 
greens. 

The Araucaria robusta is a more sturdy spe- 
cies and it is more compact than the first named 
while the Araucaria glauca is a handsome blue- 
green leaved variety of the same species. The 
indoor gardener may be interested to know 
that the cousin to these Evergreens (the large 
form of the Araucaria, known to botanists as 
A. imbricata) is said to be the only tree which 
the monkey is unable to climb. Small speci- 
mens of the Araucarias are Island Pine, and 
of other species of the Araucarias are compara- 
tively inexpensive, and may be had from al- 
most any reliable nurseryman. A well- 
started specimen will require but ordinary care, 
as this Evergreen grows freely under almost 
any conditions, where light, water and a little 
heat can be given it. The Araucarias must be 



EVERGREENS AND FERNS FOR INDOORS 97 

watered sparingly, and care must be taken not 
to transfer them too rapidly to larger pots, 
as they do not like frequent disturbing. These 
Evergreens should be repotted only when one 
feels sure they require more room than they 
have already been given. 

English Ivy is an Evergreen of the broad- 
leaved variety, and although it has long been 
one of the most popular plants in the window- 
garden, it may not have been classed among 
Evergreens by those who have not familiarized 
themselves with plant divisions. The botanical 
name of the English Ivy is Hedera helix, 
which it is well to know, in order that its vari- 
ety, Hedera helix Canariensis, commonly 
known as Irish Ivy, may not be chosen by mis- 
take in place of it. This latter Ivy has much 
larger leaves, but it is not nearly so attractive 
for indoor growing, unless one is indifferent 
to the pattern effect and merely seeks abun- 
dance of foliage, as often is the case. The 
English Ivy will stand a goodly amount of 
watering and must always be generously pot- 
ted. As for its potting soil, any good house- 
plant soil will do that has a mixture of sand 
in its composition. 



98 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

The Camellia's beautiful, dark, shining 
leaves are remarkably persistent, and this 
should receive more consideration as a house- 
plant possibility than has yet been given it. 
The remarkable beauty of its flowers is, of 
course, known to every one, as it is a favorite 
flower with poets and novelists. Camellias 
may be had from nurserymen in both single 
and double varieties, in white, pink, and red, 
the Alba plena (white), Lady Hume (pink), 
and the Hovey (red), being good varieties to 
select. Keep the potting soil for Camellias 
just moist, as over-watering will cause their 
buds to drop before flowering. Camellias 
should be repotted every two years in a mix- 
ture of equal parts of peat, sand, fibrous loam, 
and leaf-mold. 

The Myrtle, or Periwinkle (Vinca minor), 
a plant which the ancients dedicated to Venus, 
may be grown in any house, although one 
usually associates it with outdoor gardening. 
Its bushy growth must be induced by frequent 
trimming. A rich loamy potting soil is best 
for this plant, and it should be given a sunny 
place in the window-garden. There is a va- 
riegated species of Periwinkle to be had ( Vinca 



EVERGREENS AND FERNS FOR INDOORS 99 

minor, var. alba) which presents bright yellow 
foliage, and also somewhat rarer variety, hav- 
ing white instead of the usual purple flowers. 
Beside these there is Vinca rosea, a pink, erect- 
growing species, which requires an abundance 
of sunlight and liberal watching. 

Azaleas are among the most beautiful of the 
broad-leaved Evergreens, although outside the 
greenhouse it is difficult to grow them in north- 
ern temperatures with anything like success. 
The Azalea thrives best in a cool and airy 
room. Azalcea Indica is the usual species one 
meets with at the florist's. The proper night 
temperature for Azaleas is from 50 to 60 de- 
grees. After flowering (in the Spring), new 
growth in the plants must be encouraged by 
warmer temperature, and though the potting 
soil requires to be kept just moist, it must never 
be permitted to become dry. 

Sweet Bay (the Laurus nobilis) is one of 
the most decorative of indoor Evergreens, be- 
ing cultivated with stem and globular crown, 
or as a bushy or pyramidal plant, leafing to 
the soil. It must be kept very cool and should 
be carefully cellared in Winter. When 
brought out for indoor use in Summer, the 



100 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

Sweet Bay should be placed only in unheated 
rooms. 

The Partridge Berry is the only hardy Ever- 
green we have which, in its native state, car- 
pets the ground and bears red berries through- 
out the Winter. Mitchella repens is its bo- 
tanical name. It does exceedingly well when 
brought out of the woods (although it may be 
procured without trouble from nearly any 
florist or nurseryman ) , and it should be grown 
under a bell-glass or in a vivarium ; that is, an 
aquarium-like case for tender houseplants. 

The Laurustinus is an Evergreen native to 
southern Europe, and though hardy to Great 
Britain, it requires house culture in our cli- 
mate, flowering indoors from November to 
April. Its blossoms are fragrant, white flow- 
ers, which are well set off by the dark green of 
its foliage. This plant stands indifferent 
usage, being almost hardy, but it thrives best 
with generous potting and in earth composed 
of one part each of sand, leaf -mold and well- 
rotted manure. Care should be taken to give 
the leaves frequent washings, as they are great 
dust-attracters, and therefore their beauty is 
marred if the foliage is not kept clean. This 



EVERGREENS AND FERNS FOR INDOORS 101 

Laurustinus bears the botanical name of Vi- 
burnum Tinus, and thus it is closely related to 
the common Snowball of the garden, the Vi- 
burnum populti8. 

Heather (Erica), like the Azalea, produces 
a multitude of small, hair-like roots, and re- 
quires loamy potting soil, rich in decaying or- 
ganic matter. Good pot drainage is also 
requisite, and rain-water should alone be given 
these difficult Evergreens. As a rule they 
stand cool temperatures unusually well, and 
they must have plenty of air, though cold 
draughts will speedily injure them. Do not 
permit these plants to grow tall and spindling, 
but keep them low, bushy, and compact, by 
pinching and by frequent turning of all sides 
to the light. This preserves symmetry. Few 
house-plants make a greater show. A single 
day's neglect to water a Heather, or a day's 
over-watering, may kill the plant; therefore 
many, through carelessness or lack of knowl- 
edge of its requirements, have failed to raise 
the Heather successfully. The following va- 
rieties will be found the best for the window- 
garden: Erica Cavendishii (yellow), E. caffra 
(white and fragrant), E. hyemalis (pink), E. 



102 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

per solute (red), and E. ventricosa (purple). 

The Daphne is a beautiful, sweet-scented 
Evergreen, but it requires careful attention, 
for which reason it is seldom met with in gar- 
dens indoors. Daphne Indica is the variety 
for window purposes, bearing terminal bunches 
of fragrant white flowers. The leaves are 
long, glossy, and dark-green. It should have 
plenty of pot room, and its soil should (in com- 
mon with that of all houseplants) be well 
drained. 

The Yucca's handsome, stout foliage makes 
this well-known plant exceedingly decorative 
as an indoor Evergreen. Every traveler who 
has visited California recalls the great Yuccas 
to be found there, especially in the southern 
part of the state. Occasionally these giant 
species are transplanted to our gardens, and 
the smaller varieties thrive in gardens by the 
sea, being useful for decorative borders. The 
Yucca filamentosa is especially recommended 
to the amateur for the purpose, as also are Y . 
aloefolia and Y. quadricolor. Do not repot 
often, and give Yuccas a rich loamy soil. 
Yucca filamentosa var. variegata has leaves 
streaked with white and is very attractive. 



EVERGREENS AND FERNS FOR INDOORS 103 

The Kennedya is a lovely and graceful twin- 
ing indoor Evergreen, and is not as often met 
with in the window-garden as it deserves to be. 
The shoots should be kept well trained to the 
wall, or against a frame. Give it plenty of 
water. Kennedya Marrattae is the scarlet va- 
riety, while the blossoms of the K. monophylla 
are rich purple. There is not a finer climber 
for the window-garden. 

Although the varieties of indoor Evergreens 
here mentioned by no means exhaust the list 
of those that are available for house culture, 
those described are especially worthy the at- 
tention of every one who has a window-garden 
and loves houseplants, and who, though ac- 
quainted with some of the more common va- 
rieties of these plants, may not have known 
that they come under the head of true Ever- 
greens, which fact may, perhaps, lead the ama- 
teur indoor gardener to cultivate a real and 
lasting interest in them. 

FERNS 

Where one intends to place Ferns in an un- 
heated conservatory, the following species are 



104 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

among the best to select: For Potting: Adia- 
tum Pedatum, Asplenium cristatum, Polypo- 
dium vulgare cambricum, Pteris scaberula, 
Scolopendrium vulgare crispum, Woodwardia 
radicans and Woodsia ilvensis. For Baskets: 
Polystichum angulare, P. angulare proliferum, 
Woodwardia radicans and Asplenium filix- 
fcemina corybiferum. For Wall Grow- 
ing: Asplenium marinum, Polypodium vul- 
gare, Polystichum aculeatum and Scolopen- 
drium. Of course, there are many other varie- 
ties, but these few will be more than enough for 
the amateur indoor gardener. For ordinary 
room windows nearly all of the Ferns men- 
tioned will prove successful, but the following 
are especially recommended for indoor window 
gardens, Polypodium aureum, Asplenium bul- 
biferum, Nephrodium molle, Cyrtomium fal- 
catum, Pteris cretica, Scolopendrium vulgare 
crispum, Pteris tremula, Polystichum angulare 
and Pteris cretica nobilis. There are few 
plants for indoors that give as much pleasure 
to the amateur as do Ferns, when one is careful 
to see that they are cleanly potted and in well 
drained pots. 




Photo by Nathan R. Graves Co. 
A HAPPY BEDDING ARRANGEMENT OF GERANIUMS 



XV 



GERANIUMS 



THE first plant that suggests itself 
when the indoor garden is mentioned 
is the Geranium. A collection of 
houseplants without it would be very much 
like a desert without an oasis, so necessary to 
the fullest enjoyment of raising flowers in- 
doors has this lovely queen of the window-gar- 
den become. Though no houseplant gives 
greater satisfaction, and is more easily grown, 
the Geranium speedily resents neglect, and will 
languish as quickly from inattention as any 
other plant in the window. For this reason 
these pertinent hints are given. 

First of all it is well to have some definite 
idea of the various kinds of Geraniums and of 
their special characteristics. Horticulturists 
are coming more and more to use the term 
Pelargoniums for Geraniums, distinguishing 

105 



106 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

them by calling the old-fashioned mono-, bi-, 
and tri-colored Geraniums by the term Zonal 
Pelargoniums, the sweet Geraniums by the 
term Scented-Leaved Pelargoniums, and the 
Ivy Geraniums by the term Ivy-Leaved Pelar- 
goniums. However, the term Geranium will 
be retained in this chapter, as it is the one with 
which every one is familiar. 

SELECTING VARIETIES 

There are almost endless varieties of Gera- 
niums of the Zonal class, both single and 
double, from white to scarlet. Among these 
the following are especially recommended for 
their beauty, others may be selected from re- 
liable nurserymen: 

Single Geraniums — White, Dr. Nansen; 
scarlet, Lord Iddesleigh; crimson, Cyclops; 
salmon, Mrs. Robert Cannell; magenta, Mar- 
quis of Dufferin. 

Double Geraniums — White, Swanley Dou- 
ble; scarlet, F. V. Raspail; crimson, Colossus; 
salmon, Miss Floss; pink, H. M. Stanley; ce- 
rise, Mrs. Cordon. 



GERANIUMS 107 

In selecting sweet Geraniums, it should be 
borne in mind that different varieties have dif- 
ferent perfumes, as the following list will in- 
dicate: Rose-scented, Pelargonium capita- 
turn; nutmeg-scented, Lady Mary; orange- 
scented, Prince of Orange; almond-scented, 
Pretty Polly; citron-scented, Pelargonium 
radula major; peppermint-scented, Pelargo- 
nium tomentosum. 

Of the Ivy Geraniums the following will 
prove useful additions to the window-garden 
(double varieties) : Pink, Charles Turner; 
crimson, Murillo; salmon, Ryecroft Surprise; 
magenta, Alice Crousse; rose-red, Robert 
Queen ; light pink, Mme. Thibaut. 

HOW TO POT GERANIUMS 

Clean pots are essential to success with house 
plants. See that the pots chosen are clean in- 
side as well as out. Having this in mind, the 
window-gardener is advised to soak new pots 
in hot water an hour before using them. Un- 
less this is done, the pots are apt to absorb 
much of the moisture from the soil, causing 
the roots of the newly potted plants to suffer 



108 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

in consequence. Insure perfect drainage by- 
putting a few pieces of broken flower pots in 
the bottom of each new pot before setting the 
Geranium, always remembering that the larger 
the pot, the more drainage must be arranged 
for. In placing these bits of broken pots it 
is well always to place a concave piece over 
the drainage-hole in the bottom of the pot, thus 
"roofing" it and preventing it from becoming 
stopped up. Many failures have come about 
from improperly potting Geraniums. 

Do not make the common mistake of choos- 
ing pots that are too large for the plants they 
are to contain. Plants should be repotted 
from time to time as their growth requires it, 
instead of which many an amateur makes the 
mistake of giving the newly started Geranium 
a pot half a dozen sizes too large for it. In re- 
potting always retain as much of the original 
soil as possible around the root-ball. Potting 
soil must not be "pastey," neither wet nor like 
dust, but just damp to the hand. Three parts 
of fibrous loam, one of leaf mold, one of well- 
crumbled manure and one-twelfth part of sand 
combined makes an ideal soil for Geraniums, 



GERANIUMS 109 

and a small piece or two of charcoal placed in 
the bottom of each pot will do much to keep 
the potting-soil sweet for the plant. When 
potted, Geraniums should have their soil half 
an inch below the rim-level of very small pots, 
and an inch or more with larger-sized pots. In 
this way plenty of water may be received by 
the plant. 

WATERING 

Many Geraniums have been parched to 
death, but as many have met their end through 
an over-zealous watering — indeed, drowned 
houseplants are not uncommon! Newly pot- 
ted plants always require to be watered very 
sparingly, although their soil must not be per- 
mitted to become once dry. Soft water — rain- 
water — is always best for Geraniums, but if 
you have only faucet water at command, use 
that which has stood in a pail in the sunlight 
for a couple of hours. In Winter, and also in 
the Springtime, avoid watering Geraniums 
with cold water. The chill of cold water causes 
them to decline. Also remember that morn- 
ing is the best watering-time at such seasons. 



110 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 
LIGHT AND AIR 

Newly potted Geraniums should be shaded 
from the sun until they become thoroughly es- 
tablished, and even then, though sunshine is ab- 
solutely requisite to successful window-gar- 
dening, Geraniums should not be placed where 
a blaze of the sun's rays strikes them through 
heavy plate glass in a scorching manner. Like 
other houseplants, Geraniums should be 
turned around from time to time so the sun- 
light will touch them on all sides. Geraniums 
should have southern, southeastern, or eastern 
exposure. Any other position is interesting 
as an experiment, perhaps, but one need not 
hope to have thriving houseplants under con- 
ditions of other lighting. Unfortunately, gas 
light is one of the worst enemies a Geranium 
can have, and so many a failure to raise house- 
plants in the living-room is explained by this 
fact. Give Geraniums plenty of air. Plants 
breathe as well as human beings. Every 
pleasant day let fresh air from source enter the 
room where you have your Geraniums, but do 
not expose them to drafts; they are as suscep- 
tible to them as persons in delicate health, and 



GERANIUMS 111 

a chill will often send a Geranium that has suc- 
cessfully withstood an actual frost to its end. 
Try and keep the room in which you have 
your window of Geraniums at an equable tem- 
perature. If the day is a sunny one, the tem- 
perature may run up to seventy-three degrees, 
but on cloudy days sixty-eight degrees will be 
better for them. Fifty-five degrees is a good 
night temperature. Extremes of heat and 
cold must be avoided at all times. 

CUTTING AND SLIPPING 

The good housewife of days gone by found 
one of her chiefest pleasures in the giving of 
slips of her fine Geraniums to her most deserv- 
ing neighbors. The ladies of Cranford would 
have missed much in life had it been otherwise ! 
And yet, underlying the generous impulse lay 
the economic one of helping the plant along 
by cutting. Now, this is always a necessary 
operation if the Geraniums are to attain per- 
fect form — an equal height and breadth. 
There is nothing in the window-garden more 
distressing to see than a lanky, gaunt-looking 
Geranium. In cutting, choose the branches 



112 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

of the plant you wish to prune and pick off all 
the large leaves for some four inches from the 
extremity of each branch, leaving a couple of 
end leaves, then cut the branch at a point be- 
tween two nodes square across. When plant- 
ing slips, be sure no flower-buds are left on 
the slips, otherwise all the strength will go into 
them and be taken out of the new plant. In- 
sert the square-cut end of the freshly cut slip 
in the earth of a small pot by burying it just 
above the first node, as it is here the new roots 
will form. Protect slips from the full sun- 
light at first, and water sparingly. 

INSECT PESTS 

Fortunately, the pests that bother Gerani- 
ums can be well controlled, but they must be 
watched, for, as once your plants become both- 
ered, you will have continual trouble to do 
battle with them. This is one reason why one 
should be careful that flower pots are clean 
before using, and that the potting-soil does 
not contain insect larvae. The author has 
found that soaking pots when cleaned, in am- 
moniacal carbonate of copper will kill the green 



GERANIUMS 113 

algae one often sees upon flower-pots, and the 
fungi which disturb the growth of houseplants. 
The little aphides (plant-lice) which occasion- 
ally infest Geraniums are easily killed by fumi- 
gating the plants with tobacco smoke. Wash- 
ing the leaves with tobacco water, or dusting 
them with dry pyrethrum or snuff, is also an 
excellent remedy. Worms are harmful to all 
houseplants by reason of their attacking the 
roots. If you believe your Geraniums to be 
troubled by this pest, turn the plants out of 
their pots, and examine the root soil. Finally, 
do not allow diseased, wilting, or discolored 
leaves to remain on your plants. Go over 
them every day, and remove and burn all leaves 
of this sort. It often happens that plants re- 
moved to the moist air of a kitchen for a couple 
of days recover from their ailments in an as- 
tonishing manner. Try this simple "hospital 
cure" with your Geraniums when they appear 
yellow and sickly, and you will be well re- 
warded for your care. 



XVI 

THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 

ONE of the chief advantages of sub- 
urban life is the possibility it offers 
to the gardening enthusiast of a home 
vegetable garden wherein may be grown those 
table products of the plant world most to his 
liking. Few luxuries there are in this day of 
so much "artificial" living greater than that of 
being able to have for one's home table freshly 
gathered vegetables in season. What person 
is there who does not take an understandable 
pride in early grown corn, fresh green peas 
and crisp tender salads grown in his own gar- 
den! To many a one a vegetable plot is 
merely a prosaic institution of the most prosaic 
sort, a corner of the home premises to be tol- 
erated and tended. Such a viewpoint is, at 
best, quite as prosaic as the quality with which 
such indifference invests the pleasant art of 
vegetable gardening. 

114 




Photo by Nathan It. Graves Co. 
VEGETABLE GARDENING IS NOT ALL DRUDGERY 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 115 

There was a time, indeed, when the tomato 
was held to be a choice and highly decorative 
feature in the flower garden. That, of course, 
was before our time, even before our grand- 
fathers' and our grandmothers' time, a time 
before people could be persuaded that the 
"Love Apple" of old-fashioned gardens (for so 
the tomato was called) was fit for food and 
was no longer considered a poisonous fruit, 
highly dangerous to those who attempted to 
eat it! But that, too, was a time when flower- 
beds were bordered with lettuce plants, for the 
sake of decorative beauty of their green and 
russet leaves, fit foliage for Flora's realm, but 
like the tomato, now found only in vegetable 
gardens. All this is not to suggest that the 
finer fiber of those plants which find their le- 
gitimate place in the garden of flowers does 
not bring more votaries to such a shrine than 
to that of those representatives of plant-life 
on which we depend for so much of our daily 
food. 

Neither vegetable garden nor flower gar- 
den should be considered as rivals either one 
to the other; instead, each has its own func- 
tion in the workings of gardening. Neverthe- 



116 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

less, there is no reason why, at any time, care 
and thought should not be given to the prob- 
lem — it is really less a problem than it might 
appear to be — of making the vegetable gar- 
den attractive. By attractive is meant not 
only a garden well platted, orderly in appear- 
ance, conveniently planned and free from 
weeds, but a beautiful vegetable garden as well. 
Now this may all be accomplished by bringing 
a little imagination to one's assistance. A 
small garden such as one may have on a sub- 
urban lot offers many opportunities to the 
garden-maker if only he will interest himself 
sufficiently in the matter. When he can he 
will plant with an eye to the vegetable gar- 
den's landscape aspect when the plants will 
have reached maturity. Thus he will not plant 
a couple of rows of corn across the lot where 
he does not wish to screen the portion of it be- 
yond, nor will he plant low-growing things 
back of tall-growing ones. If the vegetable 
plot is to be a permanent one, it would be well 
worth while to consider the advisability of sur- 
rounding it with a suitable hedge. And after 
the growing vegetables have got the start of 
the weeds a clump of Four O 'Clocks, Petunias 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 117 

or other gayly colored flowers can be tucked 
away where they will not interfere with culti- 
vating, thus lending a color note to the vege- 
table beds' expanse of green. Nature herself 
gives us a hint here in the pumpkin flower, al- 
though she is less generous in effectiveness with 
other plants in the vegetable garden. 

In starting out to plan for the coming season 
the garden-beginner must be cautioned against 
expecting good results from poor soil, poor 
seed and after neglect. Vegetables should 
have good, deep soil. For extensive garden- 
ing it is essential for the garden-maker to know 
the various sorts of soils to which beets, car- 
rots, peas, corn, potatoes, etc., are best 
adapted. But in the small home garden one 
grade of soil will probably prevail. Fertiliz- 
ers, excellent and necessary though they are, 
require a proper soil condition to receive them. 
Thus the soil of the vegetable garden must be 
worked into shape by spading, etc. 

Where it is possible to obtain it, there is no 
fertilizer better for the vegetable garden than 
well-rotted stable manure. Any commercial 
fertilizer should contain, as nearly as possible, 
4 per cent, of nitrogen, 8 per cent, of phos- 



118 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

phoric acid and 10 per cent, of potash. For 
half an acre of ground (without additional use 
of manure) nitrate of soda (100 pounds), sul- 
phate of potash (200 pounds), acid phosphate 
(300 pounds) and high-grade tankage (400 
pounds) will make a sufficient mixture. You 
can hardly get your garden soil too rich. Vege- 
tables grown in poor soil are not comparable 
with those produced by a growth rooted in rich 
soil. 

Poor seed has been the cause of many garden 
discouragements. Never buy from any but 
reliable dealers, who can guarantee the ger- 
minating qualities of the seed they sell. It is, 
without doubt, best to order directly from well- 
known seedsmen and to place orders early. 
Lettuce, cabbage, cauliflower, beets, tomatoes, 
etc., can be bought later in the season for set- 
ting out. These will have been started suffi- 
ciently to make the transplanting process a 
simple one. In selecting such plants for set- 
ting out, good "healthy" looking seedlings 
must be selected in preference to scrawny- 
looking ones. 

Nowadays vegetable seeds sold by trust- 
worthy dealers are accompanied by planting 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 119 

directions or these directions may be found in 
their catalogues. The garden-beginner who 
disregards such directions may miraculously 
escape total failure, but he will do well to be 
guided by experience in such matters for it is 
of the greatest importance to plant seeds at 
the right time, at a proper depth, and to put 
them at distances apart which experience has 
shown to prove the most satisfactory arrange- 
ment. The planting table following this chap- 
ter will serve as a complete guide to the home 
vegetable garden-maker. It is only necessary 
to add that all seeds planted must be firmed 
in the soil — that is to say, pressed well into it 
before being covered. Then, upon germina- 
tion, the roots will take proper hold. 

Perhaps one of the commonest mistakes to 
which the garden-beginner is liable, when lay- 
ing out his first vegetable garden, is that of 
not planning proportions properly, as a re- 
sult of which he finds, when the season is half 
over, he has planted too much of one thing and 
not enough of another. To avoid this he must 
take into account before a single seed goes into 
the ground, to just what extent the demands 
on the vegetable garden by the family table 



120 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

will be. Who has not seen a beginner's gar- 
den wherein row after row of lettuce has grown 
to seed and an abundance of radish plants has 
grown almost to the size of turnips, while the 
few tomato plants were early and eagerly- 
stripped of their limited supply of fruit! All 
this naturally suggests the disproportionate 
planting that prevents a vegetable garden from 
becoming fully useful or a thing in which to 
take particular pride. Pride in one's garden 
always bespeaks pleasure in it, whether it 
be given to the planting of flowers or to the 
production of vegetables, whereas an ill-ar- 
ranged and faultily planned garden seems only 
to emphasize drudgery in the working of it. 

Finally a word should be said in connection 
with the fact that with almost every vegetable 
there is some especial cultural requirement that 
the garden-maker should study, understand 
and attend to, which naturally suggests that 
the garden-beginner will do well to add reliable 
reference works on the subject to the home li- 
brary. 



XVII 



A VEGETABLE-PLANTING TABLE 



Vegetables 



When to Plant 



Amount 

for 50-ft. 

Row 



Distance to Plant 



In 

Run 



Rows 
Apart 



Depth 

to 
Plant 



Asparagus (Plant) . 
Asparagus (Seed) . 

Bean, Dwarf 

Bean, Lima 

Bean, Pole 

Beet (Early) 

Beet (Late) 

Borecole (Kale).. . , 

Broccoli 

Brussels Sprouts. . , 
Cabbage (Early) . . , 
Cabbage (Late).. . . 

Carrot 

Cauliflower 

Celery (Plants) 

Celery (Seed) 

Corn 

Cucumber 

Eggplant 

Endive 

Kale (Borecole).. . . 

Kohl-rabi 

Lettuce 

Leek 

Melon, Musk 

Melon, Water 

Onion 

Okra 

Parsley 

Parsnips 

Peas 

Peas (Smooth) 
Pepper (Plants) . . . 

Pepper (Seed) 

Potato 

Pumpkin 

Radish 

Rhubarb (Plants) . . 

Salsify 

Spinach 

Squash, Summer. . . 
Squash, Winter.. . . 
Tomato (Plants)... 
Tomato (Seed) 
Turnip 



April 

April -May 
May 5-Aug. 
May 20-June 
May 15-June 
April -June 



-Aug. 
-July 
-July 
-July 



April 

April 

April 

April 

April 

May 

April 

April 

July 

April 

May 10-July 

May 10-July 

June 1-June 



-June 
-July 
-June 
1-Aug. 



-Aug. 
-July 
-June 
-Aug. 



April 

April 

April 

April 

April 

May 15-June 

May 15-June 

April 

May 15-June 

April -May 

April 

April 10-June 

April 1-Aug. 

June 1-20 

June 1 

April 15-June 

May 1-June 

April 1-Sept. 

April 

April -May 

April 1-Sept. 

May 15-July 

May 15-June 

May 15-July 

June 

April -Sept. 



50 

1 ounce 
15 1 pint 
10 Vi pint 
30 Yi pint 

1 ounce 

1 ounce 
25 
35 
35 
35 
20 

Yi ounce 
35 
100 

1 ounce 

Y pint 
"2 ounce 

25 

ounce 
25 

,, ounce 
Yi ounce 
Yi ounce 
Yi ounce 

Y ounce 
/2 ounce 
Yi ounce 
Yi ounce 

Y ounce 

1 pint 

1 pint 



25 



20 } 
20 

i y 

25 

IS 

1 } 
20 
20 20 

H 
121 



ounce 
peck 
ounce 
ounce 

ounce 
ounce 
ounce 
ounce 

ounce 
ounce 



1 ft. 
2-4 in. 
2-4 in. 
3 in. 

3 in. 

3-4 in. 

3-4 in. 
18 in. 
18 in. 
18 in. 
18 in. 

m ft. 

2-3 in. 
18 in. 
6 in. 
1-2 in. 

3 ft. 

4 ft. 

2 ft. 
1 ft. 

18 ft. 
6-12 in. 

1 ft. 
2-4 in. 
4-6 ft. 
6-8 ft. 
2-4 in. 

2 ft. 
4-6 in. 
3-5 in. 
2-4 in. 
2-4 in. 

2 ft. 
3-6 in. 

13 in. 
6-8 ft. 
2-3 in. 
2-3 ft. 
3-6 in. 
3-5 in. 
4 in. 
6-8 in. 

3 ft. 
3-4 in. 
4-6 in. 



3 ft. 
15 in. 
1^-2 in 
3 in. 

3 in. 
15 in. 
15 in. 

m ft. 

2 ft. 
2 ft. 
2 ft. 
2^ ft. 
15 in. 
2 ft. 
3-4 ft. 

1 ft. 
3-4 ft. 

4 ft. 

2 34 ft. 

1 ft. 

2 4 ft. 
18 in. 

1-1 Yi ft 
15 in. 

4-6 ft. 

6-8 ft. 
15 in. 

3 ft. 
1 ft. 

18 in. 

4 ft. 

3 ft. 
2H ft. 

15 in. 

2J4 ft. 

6-8 ft. 

1 ft. 

3-4 ft. 
18 in. 
18 in. 

4 ft. 



2 
'■J 

'•2 

4 
Yi 

Yi 
Y^, 
YrY'm. 



2 in. 
1 in. 



Yi m. 
Yi in. 
Yi in. 
Yi in. 
Yi in. 

1 in. 

1 in. 
Yr-i in. 
Yi-l in. 
Yi in. 
Yrl in. 

2-3 in. 

2-3 in. 



/2 in. 
4-6 in. 

\-\Yi in. 

\Yi in. 



3 ft. 4 in, 
15 in. 
15 in. 



1 in. 
1 in. 
1-2 in. 
1-2 in. 



Yi in. 
Yi in. 



XVIII 

THE SALAD GARDEN 

THE list of plants available for salads 
has increased with our ingenuity in 
discovering the resources of the kitch- 
en garden. Though the lettuce is still the chief 
salad plant grown, there are other salad plants 
that deserve attention, and will be very wel- 
come upon those tables that have given them- 
selves up to the monotony of one sort of salad, 
a limitation one does not find in foreign coun- 
tries, where a dinner without the salad is not 
considered dinner at all. However, even in the 
matter of the lettuce there are so many varie- 
ties that some consideration of them will be 
of interest here. 

Lettuce: There are three main divisions of 
lettuces. The "Cos" varieties, which are of 
upright growth with hard leaf of coarse veins 
and coarse midrib (taking their name from 

122 



THE SALAD GARDEN 123 

the Island of Cos, whence they were introduced 
into Europe) ; the "Butter," especially deli- 
cate varieties, with small-veined leaves of gen- 
erally smooth edges, and the "Crisp" which 
are harder than the "Butter" lettuces, but have 
fringed leaves. 

It must be borne in mind that in the sorts 
of lettuces above mentioned there are to be 
found two classes; those that bunch with up- 
right leaves and those that head like cabbages. 
"Cos" varieties (bunching) : Bath, not so 
coarse as most varieties, Paris White. "But- 
ter" varieties (heading) : Deacon, easily 
grown in all localities. A good midsummer 
variety; Hartford Bronzed Head, reddish 
color; Big Boston, especially recommended for 
late use; Tennis-Bali Black Seeded, one of the 
mrst reliable all-around "Butter" varieties; 
Golden Queen, for very early use. "Butter" 
varieties (bunching) : Lancaster, grows espe- 
cially well in the South. "Crisp" varieties 
(heading) : Hanson, best for summer; Black- 
Seeded Simpson for August; Mignonette, es- 
pecially tender and good for fall sowing; Ice- 
berg for late use. "Crisp" varieties (bunch- 
ing) : Black-Seeded Simpson, easily grown 



124 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

anywhere, for intermediate season, especially 
recommended; Prize head for early use. 

A deep rich mellow loam founded on a dry 
substratum is an ideal soil for lettuces, but they 
thrive, fortunately, in even indifferent soil. 
With a little care the salad-garden may be 
made to produce a succession of lettuces 
throughout the season. The earliest varieties 
must be started in the hotbed for spring use, 
if the seed has not been planted the previous 
autumn in the open and protected by a mulch 
(covering of leaves, etc. ) . It is well to remem- 
ber that lettuce-seed should be sown thinly 
one-fourth of an inch deep in drills eight to 
twelve inches apart. The seed will germinate 
in from eight to ten days. When the plants 
push out they should be thinned out to about 
four inches apart. A quarter of an ounce of 
lettuce seed will produce some two hundred 
and fifty plants. Of course, with care, lettuce- 
plants bear transplanting successfully ; indeed, 
many who have for some reason delayed plant- 
ing seeds until late in the season may still have 
early lettuces by obtaining hotbed-grown seed- 
lings from their seedsman for setting out in 
their own gardens. Transplanted lettuces 



THE SALAD GARDEN 125 

must be kept well watered until the roots have 
taken firm hold in the new soil. Bear in mind, 
however, that lettuces seldom do well when 
transplanted in warm weather. 

Endive is cultivated for its head of leaves, 
which, when blanched, are delicious for salads. 
The seed should be planted from April to 
August for a succession of crops, leaving six- 
teen inches between rows, and thinning the 
plants to nine inches apart. Indoor planting 
should be done in March. As endive is sus- 
ceptible to rot, the leaves, in the blanching 
process, should be tied up with raffia when they 
are free from external moisture, and the soil 
drawn up to blanch the heart of the plant. The 
blanching should be started after about a 
month's growth. Seeds of endive germinate 
in about ten days. A quarter of an ounce of 
seed will produce a twenty-five foot row. Plant 
half an inch deep. The variety especially rec- 
ommended for salad uses is the green curled; 
being the hardiest, it is best adapted for gen- 
eral growing. Batavian endive is highly es- 
teemed by French cooks. 

Fennel is a hardy perennial, a native of 
Italy, which will flourish in any sort of soil. 



126 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

Plant in April, putting in the seed to a depth 
of a quarter of an inch in rows fourteen inches 
apart. Thin out the plants to a distance of 
seven or eight inches apart. Cut down the 
stems to prevent flowering, and also to encour- 
age a growth of new leaves. The young stalks, 
blanched, and the sweet-flavored leaves are 
relished by many as a salad dish, or used with 
other salad plants in a mixture. 

Clucory: One sixteenth of an ounce of chic- 
ory-seed will produce a twenty-five-foot row of 
plants. Sow in rows twelve inches apart, half 
an inch deep, and thin plants out to four inches 
apart. Plant in May or June or, in the South, 
in March and April. The blanched leaves 
make an excellent salad. 

Chives are delicate onions, a hardy perennial 
native to Great Britain, easily grown and 
should be better known in the salad-garden. 
The flavor is that of leek and onion mixed. A 
few roots set out the early part of May ten 
inches apart will suffice. 

Nasturtium: There is, of course, more or 
less sentiment against devouring bouquets, 
nevertheless the tops of Nasturtium plants are 
delicious with crisp lettuce salads, and in South 



THE SALAD GARDEN 127 

America, where the plant is a native, the Span- 
iards regard the Nasturtium as one of their 
favorite salad dishes. 

Cucumber, cabbage, radish, celery, beet, as- 
paragus and onion are so well known that any- 
thing beyond the mention of them here as 
foundations for salads would be unnecessary. 

Hyssop is a much-neglected herb, once so 
popular in Biblical days, but it still deserves 
consideration as an addition to the salad-gar- 
den. Sow seed half an inch deep late in the 
spring in rows six inches apart. When the 
plants are three inches high thin them out to 
stand twelve inches apart. When mature 
gather the branches on a dry, sunny day, and 
keep them in cool garret or herb-closet. The 
powdered leaves lend a delightful aromatic 
quality to a salad. 

Garden-cress is a good substitute for water- 
cress. Sow in shallow drills in April in rows 
six inches apart. Put seeds in the ground at a 
depth of a quarter of an inch, and after the 
plants have attained a growth of some three 
inches, thin them out to stand three inches 
apart. 

Water-cress: Happy indeed is the garden- 



128 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

maker who has a running brook on the prem- 
ises. Here water-cress may be grown. The 
warm, pungent taste one finds in the leaves 
makes them the favorite early spring salad 
plant. Seeds of the water-cress may be had 
from all seedsmen and the opportunity of 
growing one's own cresses should not be neg- 
lected. The seed may be planted from April 
to June in the shallow sandy gravel bottoms of 
swift-running streams. 

3Iint: And now we come to a plant little 
used by Americans in salads, but thoroughly 
worth attention in this connection. The 
mint's leaves, both green and dry, are valuable 
accessories to lettuce-salads, and are especially 
good in combination with Dandelion leaves. 
Mint may be propagated from cuttings 
of old stalks or by division of roots of old 
plants in the springtime. All nursery seeds- 
men can supply cuttings, though they do not 
catalogue mint seeds. A mint-bed will con- 
tinue to flourish five or six seasons. A very 
few plants of it will suffice amply for the salad- 
garden. 

Parsley: One cannot pass the subject of 
the salad-garden without some mention of 



THE SALAD GARDEN 129 

parsley. A penny's worth of seed will produce 
a ten-foot row that will continue throughout 
the season with proper attention. Sow at the 
end of April half an inch deep, and when the 
plants are two inches high thin out the rows 
so the plants remaining will be four inches 
apart. Before planting soak parsley-seed over- 
night in warm (not hot) water to facilitate 
germination. Do not, when the plants have 
matured, take all the leaves from a plant at 
one time. The main value of the aromatic 
parsley leaves is the distinct flavoring they 
give, but beyond that their lovely curly leaves 
add a distinct decorative note to the garnish- 
ings of salad and meat dishes especially when 
their distinct green is used in contrast with to- 
matoes or the pale colors of blanched endive 
and cucumbers. 

Enough has been said here to suggest to the 
reader the pleasure and profit one might de- 
rive from devoting a small plot of ground to 
the growing of plants for salads, even if no 
other gardening were attempted, and to the list 
of plants given here the amateur may come to 
add many others which he will discover for him- 
self in his experiments with his salad-garden. 



XIX 



VINES 



WHEN you come to plant your gar- 
den, make your lawn, set out your 
trees and shrubs, and have finished 
building your garden walls, fences and trel- 
lises, there will be the vines to take into consid- 
eration. 

Perhaps no branch of garden adornment is 
more carelessly attended to by the amateur 
than that of selecting the proper vines for the 
premises. It is always so easy to fall back on 
Virginia Creeper, or to feel that with a little 
spatter of Wistaria the whole field has been 
covered. Nevertheless, looking into vine-lore 
at planting-time is well worth while. 

There are, generally speaking, two sorts 
of vines: those which are hardy and shrub- 
topped, and those which die down in winter 
to spring up again the next season, or which 

130 



VINES 



131 



are annuals that have to be started from seed 
each year, though some of these may be self- 
sowing. 

The following list of twenty-five vines is 
sufficiently inclusive, in both divisions, for al- 
most all vine planting purposes. 



SHRUB-TOPPED VINES 



1. Akebia 

2. False Bittersweet 

3. Virginia Creeper 

4. Boston Ivy 

5. Clematis 

6. Virgin's Bower 

7. Climbing Euony- 

mus 

8. Wild Grape 

9. English Ivy 

10. Silver Vine 

11. Honeysuckle 

12. Honeysuckle 

13. Honeysuckle 



(Akebia quinata) 
(Celastrus scandens) 
(Ampelopsis quinque- 
folia) 

(Ampelopsis tricuspi- 
data, or A. Vetchii) 
(Clematis paniculata) 
(Clematis Virginiana) 

(Euonymus radicans) 
(Vitis vulpina) 
(Hedera Helix) 
(Actinidia arguta) 
( Lonicera sempervi- 
rens) 

(Lonicera flava) 
(Lonicera Japonica) 



132 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

14. Kudzu Vine (Pueraria Thunbergi 

ana) 

15. Dutchman's Pipe ( Aristolochia macro- 

phylla) 

16. Wistaria (Wistaria sinensis) 

17. American Wistaria ( Wistaria speciosa) 

18. Trumpet Creeper (Tecoma radicans) 



VINE-TOPS DYING DOWN IN WINTER ( NORTH ) 



19. Moonseed 

20. Hop 

21. Japanese Hop 

22. Scarlet Runner 

23. Morning-Glory 

24. Moonflower 

25. Thunbergia 



(Menispermum Cana- 
dense ) 

(Humulus Lupulas) 
(Humulus Japonicus) 
( Phaseolus multiflo- 
rus) 

(Ipomcea purpurea) 
(Ipomoea Bona-nox) 
(Thunbergia alata) 



Vines should never be planted where they 
are not really necessary nor where they will not 
add beauty to the premises, nor yet again with- 
out due regard to the grouping of varieties. 
One does not always wish to turn the side of 
a house into a flower-garden by a vast expanse 



VINES 133 

of large-flowering Clematis, for instance; re- 
straint is the better course. Let your flower- 
ing vines appear here and there in smaller 
patches, or around your porches, giving more 
area to vines such as the Boston Ivy, with its 
expanse of green, and the Kudzu Vine with its 
ability to cover an expanse of space in a won- 
derfully short time. 

Again, too many varieties and species should 
not be planted together unless it is desired 
to obtain a jungle effect, which is hardly what 
one strives for in this day of decorative discre- 
tion. The Japanese are masters in the art of 
attaining satisfying effects — next to them 
come the English gardeners. As nature has 
the whole world for her premises, we must not 
be led into the mistake of attempting to trans- 
late her swamp, forest, and hillside effects to 
our lawns and gardens without some consider- 
ation for adaptation. 

Those vines which require winter protection 
must not be planted before you ask yourself 
— that is if you live in the far northern parts 
of the country — if you wish to have your porch 
and house- fronts littered (as surely they will 
have to be when tender vines are met by chilling 



134 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

winds and winter's snows) by straw and mat- 
ting protections. For instance, the winter sun 
is too bright for the English Ivy in its dormant 
season, wherefore one often sees whole house- 
sides Jhat in summer were green with the 
Ivy's beauty, yielding, in winter time, to the 
necessity of an ugly covering of flat mats. 
Nevertheless we do not plant half enough of 
this vine, and there are always many nooks and 
corners of walls and spots that are fairly well 
sheltered where it will thrive admirably. Apro- 
pos of vines and the seasons, the Silk Vine 
(Periploca Grceca) retains its foliage very late 
into the fall, and is an excellent vine for arbor, 
stump, trellis or tree-trunk. 

It must not be forgotten that vines need 
cultivation in common with other plants. It 
will not do merely to let them struggle along 
the best they can. The soil around them must 
be worked carefully, fertilized, and protected 
by mulches to retain moisture in summer and 
to protect the vines from frost in winter. 
Then, too, it will be found that some of them 
are of very slow growth, like the Wistarias, 
while others, like the Kudzu Vine, reach out 
with amazing rapidity. Every year the seeds- 



VINES 135 

men and nurserymen are paying more atten- 
tion to this important subject, so the garden 
and lawn planter has always a variety to select 
from. 

If vines are to thrive well against the house- 
side they should not be planted too near the 
foundation. It is far better to run them out 
at least ten inches from the walls in order that 
the roots may have a chance to grow out in 
all directions from the stalk. Before new 
growth begins with each succeeding season, 
some of the old wood shrub-topped vines should 
be cut away, that new shoots may have a fair 
chance when their time comes. 

Summer pruning, or pinching, as it is more 
often called, is the most advisable. The ends 
of the canes (vine branches) should be kept 
tied to their place, and when dense growth is 
desired heavier pinching back may be resorted 
to. 



XX 



CLEMATIS 



THE Clematis is one of our loreliest 
flowering vines, yet one whose deco- 
rative qualities deserve greater study 
than they have yet received by garden-makers. 
While the more common forms of the Clematis 
(Clematis paniculata, for instance) are known 
to all, the more unusual varieties have, as yet, 
not found the place they deserve in American 
gardens. 

Not only is the Clematis prized for flower 
and for foliage, but many of the species bear 
feathery-tailed pods that lend attractiveness 
to the vines late in their season. There are 
over one hundred and fifty species of the Cle- 
matis, widespread in geographical distribution. 
The varieties are especially abundant in the 
temperate zones. In North America alone, 
we have about twenty species native to the 
land. 

136 



■■■J 1 ^j 

7 m 




Plioto by Nathan R. Graves Co. 

the clematis (C. Firginiana) as a porch vine 



CLEMATIS 137 

The Japanese Clematis, Clematis panicu- 
lata, is a vigorous climber and bears feathery 
clusters of small, greenish-white flowers of 
pleasing fragrance. This species may be prop- 
agated by seed, is easily transplanted and is 
of rapid growth. Its lovely foliage makes it 
an ideal porch or pillar vine and the feathery, 
smoky filaments of the tufted seedpods in late 
autumn enhance the great beauty of this plant. 
Clematis paniculata is also an excellent vine 
for garden arches. Sunny positions are rec- 
ommended for it. This vine has a decided ad- 
vantage over many others in that it will stand 
close pruning in the winter season without det- 
riment to its spring and summer growth the 
season following. The Clematis Armandii in 
this same group (Recta?) is only suited to a 
warm, temperate region or for greenhouse cul- 
ture, as is also the late-summering Clematis 
crassifolia, likewise of Chinese origin. While 
the exquisite fragrance of the mid-summer 
blooming English Clematis flammula renders 
it one of our choicest garden vines, it is, at the 
same time, one of the most fragile and not 
sufficiently robust to weather the more severe 
climate of the northern section of our country. 



138 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

In the South it is especially adapted to shore 
planting. Our own Virgin's-bower (Clematis 
Virginiana) does not attain the height of the 
Paniculata species but it is, perhaps, our most 
decorative native variety in respect to foliage 
and seed-pods. The Traveler's-Joy or Old 
Man's Beard is the Clematis vitalba, which is 
a vigorous climbing vine, often attaining a 
height of from fifteen to thirty feet. This is 
one of the commonest varieties of English gar- 
dens. The flowers are deliciously fragrant and 
have a faint almond-like perfume. One of the 
newer garden effects of festooning is admira- 
bly accomplished with this climbing Clematis, 
which by reason of its clinging and reaching 
out habit adapts itself admirably to forming 
natural arches by overhead festooning, requir- 
ing but little training and encouragement. 

Of the florists' varieties the Clematis Jack- 
manii, Clematis lanuginosa, Clematis viticella, 
Clematis Florida and Clematis patens will well 
repay study and experiment in our climate. 
Of the Jackmanii varieties the Fortunei, Gip- 
sy Queen, Jackmanii Alba, Jackmanii Su- 
perba, Lucy Lemoine, Velutina, Modesta, 
Star of India, and Madam Edouard Andre are 



CLEMATIS 189 

especially beautiful. Of the Lanuginosa types 
one may recommend Princess of Wales, La 
France, Fairy Queen, the Madame van 
Houtte, Marcel Moser, Beauty of Worcester, 
Mrs. Hope, Nelly Moser and the Mrs. George 
Jackman. Of the Viticella Clematis some of 
the finest are Willisoni, Venosa, Ville de Lyon, 
and the Ville de Paris. Of the Patens species 
the Miss Bateman, Mrs. S. C. Zaker, the 
Queen and the Mrs. Quilter are not to be neg- 
lected and the effective Hybrid coccineas, — 
Duchess of Albany, Grace Darling, and Lady 
Northcliffe are especially beautiful. The gar- 
den-maker will find the Jackmanii group 
hardy and the Viticella group hardy likewise. 
As they are prolific feeders, they require good 
soil and fertilizing. The Lanuginosa group 
produces unusually large flowers, the lovely 
violet-tinged Beauty of Worcester often pro- 
ducing flowers over four inches in diameter, 
while the writer has seen blossoms of the Mar- 
cel Moser that measured some eight inches in 
breadth. Generally speaking the Florida 
types and the Patens type thrive best when in 
shelter. The Queen (of the Patens type) 
bears lavender blossoms from four to five inch- 



140 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

es across, often attaining a greater flower 
breadth. The Belle of Woking of the Florida 
type produces bright vermilion blossoms, very 
attractive in form. The Jackmanii Clematis 
ranges from snow white to deep purple and a 
group of these properly disposed in a garden 
produces a truly delectable feature and one 
that cannot fail to evoke wonderment and ad- 
miration. 

The home garden-maker will find such spe- 
cies of the Clematis as C. paniculata invaluable 
for obtaining permanent effects. Few vines 
— certainly no flowering vine that may be 
grown in all parts of the country — offers so 
many advantages as does the Clematis as a dec- 
orative growth for lattice-work and treillage. 
In all the present architectural trellis-work the 
light and airy effect requires, where vines are 
used as accessories to its decoration, that these 
vines also be light and airy in appearance. It 
is not the true province of well-designed trellis- 
work to serve as a support to massive vine- 
stems, such as that of the Wistaria, except 
where the treillage is of more than ordinary 
height, strength and breadth. Where a heavy 
lattice may support heavy appearing vines, 



CLEMATIS 141 

light trellis-work is too independent in intent to 
lend itself successfully to such treatment. 
Therefore one may turn to the Clematis as a 
happy solution of rinding a perennially attrac- 
tive vine that can be utilized in connection with 
such architectural features as garden trellis- 
work. 



XXI 



SHRUBS 



THERE is no reason in the world for 
believing that American gardens can- 
not be as lovely as their European 
antecedents, no reason at all for not realizing 
that many of them are already as lovely. In 
speaking of the New World's early Pilgrim 
settlers, Hawthorne, in Our Old Home, had 
this to say apropos the beginning of gardening 
in America: "There is not a softer trait to 
be found in these stern men than that they 
should have been sensible of their flower roots 
clinging among the fibres of their rugged 
hearts, and have felt the necessity of bringing 
them over seas and making them hereditary in 
the new land." 

That was the day of the old-fashioned gar- 
den, the old-fashioned garden whose sway ex- 
tended to Hawthorne's own time. We are in- 

142 




Photo by Nathan R. Graves O 
SHRUBS DO MUCH TO KNIT THE HOUSE TO THE LANDSCAPE 



SHRUBS 143 

clined to consider the introduction of the for- 
mal garden into the American landscape as 
somewhat luxurious, because we have been in 
the habit of liking our flower beds and borders 
as a lovely jumble of growing things, and the 
nice orderly restraint with its very paucity of 
bloom in what we call the Italian gardens, the 
quaint but stiffly balanced clipped Evergreens 
we have adopted from English gardens have, 
perhaps, not even yet entirely completely to 
appeal to us so thoroughly in the past as it now 
does. A few years ago we were paying little 
or no attention to gardens, but just loving them 
when we came across a fine one ; now all that is 
different. Every one of us wants a garden. 
We come about in our discovering gardening 
much as did Emerson when he wrote of what 
he called his "new plaything" — forty acres of 
woodland bordering Walden pond. "I go 
thither every afternoon and cut with my 
hatchet an Indian path thro' the thicket, all 
along the bold shore and open the finest pic- 
tures." But it was Emerson who laughingly 
declares: "A brave scholar should shun it like 
gambling, and take refuge in cities and hotels 
from these pernicious enchantments." He 



144 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

never did ; no sensible man ever will ! We can- 
not forget Cowley's observation that '"God 
the first garden made, and the first city Cain." 
There is a delight incomparable in planning a 
garden, planting it and caring for it. A de- 
light that has taken a firm hold on Americans. 

We associate with the perfect garden, 
whether it be a little garden or a large one, the 
thought of those flowering shrubs that have 
endeared themselves to us all and which have 
won an enduring place in prose and poetry — 
Lilacs, Syringas and the like. Our lawns are 
no longer spotted with isolated shrub dots, but 
we have come to emulate Nature, with her ar- 
rangement of borders and of clearings. We 
leave our lawn spaces free for such treatment 
lends to the illusion of greater extent and we 
make little skylines of our own by banking 
shrubs on the lines of limit, tall growing ones 
at the back and the shrubs of low growth in 
front. 

In one little garden I have known the follow- 
ing shrubs were growing, having been planted 
there with succession of bloom in mind in their 
selection. First came Forsythia which put 



SHRUBS 145 

forth blossoms in April; then the Lilac in May; 
Spirea in June; Deutzia in July; the Smoke 
Bush in August; Hydrangeas in September 
and the Witch Hazel in October. These hardy 
species would respond to cultivation in any 
garden having good soil. These shrubs are 
neither rare nor expensive and are commonly 
in all nursery stocks. This little garden also 
contained Mahonia, Barberry and Deutzia 
(Gracilis) in the shaded positions, where they 
flourished happily, though long ago the tall 
Barberry variety was rooted out for alert sci- 
entists had discovered that this species encour- 
aged the vicious grain rust. St. John's Wort 
and the Japanese Rose (Kerria Japonica) 
were there to give two months' successive 
bloom. Honeysuckles (Lonicera), Bramble 
(Rubus), Red Osier, Buckthorn and Snow 
Berry lent ornamental fruit pods to Autumn's 
array. Perhaps of all the shrubs the Lilac and 
the Syringa were the best loved. The flowers 
of the Forsythia, Syringa, Spirea, and Vibur- 
num, Lilac and Weigela being borne on old 
stems required that these shrubs should be 
pruned immediately after blossoming for best 



146 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

cultivation. Hibiscus and Hydrangea were 
pruned in late autumn. 

The flowering shrubs present species that 
assure a succession of blossoms. In April 
there is the Hamamelis Japonica, Leu- 
cothoe" racemosa, and Xanthorrhiza apiifolia. 
May brings us the flowers of Cercis chinensis, 
Cotoneaster Simonsii, Daphne mezereum, Dir- 
ca palustris, Elseagnus longipes, Euonymus 
alatus (and also E. Bungesnus, E. Nanus and 
E. verrucosus), Fothergilla Gardeni and F. 
major, Hydrangea Bretschneideri, Leucoth- 
oe racemosa, Photinia villosa, Prunus sub- 
hirtilla, Pyrus Kaido, Symplocos cratsegoides ; 
Syringa oblata (also S. pubescens and S. vil- 
losa), Vaccinium corymbosum, and Xantho- 
ceras. June finds the following in flower: 
Aralia cordata, Buddleia variabilis, Diervilla 
trifida, Enkianthus campanulata, Euonymus 
alatus, Hydrangea arborescens (also H. Bret- 
schneideri, and H. Quercifolia, and H. Radi- 
ata), Leucothoe racemosa, Magnolia glauca, 
Stuartia pentagyna, Styrax japonica, Vibur- 
num dilatatum and V. pubescens. For July 
we have iEsculus parviflora, Andromeda Ma- 
riana, Aralia cordata, Buddleia variabilis, Cal- 



SHRUBS 147 

licarpe purpures, Castanea pumila, Diervilla, 
Rhus copallina, Vitex Agnus-castus. Au- 
gust gives us Acanthopanax sessiliflorum, 
iEsculus parviflora, Andromeda Mariana, 
Buddleia variabilis, Rhus copallina and Vitex 
Agnus-castus. In September the chief shrubs 
in blossom will be Andromeda Mariana, Gor- 
donia Altamana, Jasminum nudiflorum and 
Vitex Agnus-castus, while October is given 
floral support by Gordonia Altamana. 

FLOWERS 

The following shrubs are especially valuable 
for their flowers: 



Aralia 


Prunus 


Azalea 


Pyrus 


Buddleia 


Rubus 


Cercis 


Shepherdia 


Gordonia 


Sty rax 


Hamamelis 


Symplocos 


Hydrangea 


Syringa 


Jasminum 


Viburnum 


Magnolia 


Vitex 


Photinia 


Xanthoceras 



148 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

FOLIAGE 

Among the shrubs best suited to planting 
for foliage beauty are : 

Acanthopanax Nemopanthus 

iEsculus Prunus 

Callicarpa Rubus 

Daphne Symplocos 

Diervilla Syringa 

Elaagnus Vaccinium 

Enkianthus Viburnum 

Euonymus Xanthoceras 
Xanthorrhiza 



COLOR 

The shrubs whose foliage is especially valued 
for autumn coloring are: 

Andromeda Nemopanthus 

Gordonia Syringa 

Leucothoe Xanthorrhiza 

This goodly array of scientific names need 
not frighten the garden beginner ! Timidly at 
first, in all probability, he will approach their 



SHRUBS 149 

use, but when once his nurseryman glibly re- 
sponds to their magic the potency of the right 
name for the right shrub will be worth strug- 
gling for, even though we will never give up 
Lilac and Snowball for less familiar names. 



XXII 



EVERGREENS 



THERE are few persons the world 
over who have not a tender spot in 
their hearts for Evergreens. Mother 
Nature has hardly given us greater treasures 
in the whole realm of plant-life, than in her 
gift of the trees that remain green always. 
In summer their deep color, suggesting shad- 
owy mysteriousness, marks them as they stand 
against the ground of deeper color or against 
the azure sky. In winter they give to the land- 
scape just the note of relief required to lift the 
vision above the sense of the monotony of the 
brown earth or the glare of the snowclad 
country side. Perhaps we unconsciously asso- 
ciate all Evergreens with the Christmas story 
and its gladsome festivities, or it may be that 
there runs in our blood the heritage of the 
Norsemen, who held the Evergreen in venera- 

150 




Pboto by Xatban R. Graves Co 
EVERGREENS LEND NOBILITY TO THE GARDEN LANDSCAPE 



EVERGREENS 151 

tion. Even the ancient Greeks told how Cy- 
bele, mother of the gods, changed a shepherd 
lad into a pine, and Jove, sympathizing with 
her in the after-grief she betrayed for her act, 
ordained that thenceforward the leaves of the 
Pine should be ever green. Even to this day 
in China, the natives consider the Pine em- 
blematic of eternal friendship, and did not the 
Pilgrim Fathers take the old Pine Tree (the 
only green, growing thing they saw brighten- 
ing the horizon of their landing) , as the emblem 
of their colony? Then there is the Larch 
which, when burned, was thought in times of 
witchery to drive away serpents and evil things, 
and the Juniper, venerable in the traditions of 
antiquity. The Fir, St. Nicholas' tree, the 
Spruce, chief mystic tree of the Indians of the 
Northwest, and the Hemlock (which we must 
not confuse with the plant the ancients meted 
out as death potion to the condemned), the 
Cedar, famous in the building of Solomon's 
Temple, and the Cypress, from which was wo- 
ven the crown of Melpomene, the Tragic Muse. 
The value of Evergreens in the construction 
of the home landscape is inestimable. Septem- 
ber is the month in which this subject should re- 



152 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

ceive particular attention, for while it is true 
that there are other months in which evergreens 
may safely be moved, — even in May and June, 
with proper care and conditions, — September 
is found to be, on the whole, the most conveni- 
ent and best-adapted month, generally speak- 
ing, for this undertaking. The warmth of the 
soil of September induces rapid growth, and 
even though this is usually a dry month, there 
should be no difficulty in keeping the earth 
moist around the plantings. Very small Ever- 
greens, not exceeding two feet in height, may 
be moved without balls of earth about their 
roots (if the roots are carefully handled) with- 
out causing any breakings. However, it is al- 
ways the more satisfactory plan to move Ever- 
greens of any size with a good ball of earth 
around their roots. With large Evergreens 
the home garden-maker takes much risk in ex- 
perimenting on his own account. In the first 
place, the varying soil, climatic and other con- 
ditions should lead him to consult some one di- 
rectly experienced in such matters. It is true 
that one may derive much from reading books 
on the subject of Evergreen planting, but with 
the moving of large trees it seems an unneces- 



EVERGREENS 153 

sary and foolish risk to attempt the transplant- 
ing unless one is sure he is moving in the right 
direction. At the present day reputable nur- 
serymen are to be found in all sections of the 
country and they are only too glad to give ad- 
vice on such subjects to their customers gratis. 
There are some things that are worth point- 
ing out that every home garden-maker should 
know. For instance, every Evergreen from 
eight to ten feet in height should not be moved 
with a ball of earth less than three feet in di- 
ameter around its roots. If the tree measures 
fifteen feet in height, an earth-ball of five feet 
in diameter is suggested (although an earth- 
ball of three feet in diameter is sufficient for 
red cedars). If one were moving a specimen 
of pine, he should see to it that the earth-ball 
of an Evergreen of this size were fully twelve 
feet in diameter. The reason for moving large 
Evergreens with earth-balls proportionate to 
their size, is that such trees have no dormant 
period. Evergreens require plenty of water. 
Those which have been moved one season must 
not be neglected the next, for it often takes 
several seasons for an Evergreen's roots to 
spread out in new environment and become es- 



154 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

tablished, which makes watering requisite 
throughout all this period. 

A careful selection of Evergreens for the 
home grounds, both as to the matter of species 
and size, as well as to color, will greatly add to 
the attractiveness of the home landscape, even 
though the premises is limited in extent, as in 
a small town lot. The winter interest of the 
grounds is coming to receive proper attention 
more and more, and the many low-growing 
Evergreens available for planting makes eas- 
ily possible the most attractive effects, either 
in the way of massing or edging, or of 
rosetting. 

As regards climate, perhaps it would be well 
to suggest here those woody Evergreens that 
are found to be tender above New York, thus 
enabling the amateur planter to know that 
they must be given especial care : 

Abelia chinensis Andromeda nitida (Lyonia 
Abelia uniflora nitida) 

Abies amabilis Arbutus Menziesi 

Abies grandis Arbutus Unedo 

Abies Pinsapo Aubrietia deltoidea 

Abies shastensis Aucuba Japonica 

Acaena microphylla Azalia microphylla 

Acaena ovalifolia Baccharis patagonica 



EVERGREENS 



155 



Carrieria calcycina 
Castanopsis crysophylla 
Cedrus atlantica 
Cedrus Deodara 
Chama?cyparis Lawsoniana 
Cistus laurifolius 
Clematis Armandii 
Cotoneaster salicifolia 
Cupressus Macnabiana 
Daphne Laureola 
Distylium racemosum 
Erica stricta 
Euonymus Americana 
Euonymus Japonica 
Euonymus patens 
Garrya eliptica, 
Garrya Fremontii 
Garrya Veitchii var. flave- 

cens 
Ilex vomitoria 
Jasminium humila (J. re- 

volutum) 
Ligustrum ovalifolium 
Lyonia nitida (Andromeda 

nitida) 



Osmanthus aquifolium 
Pachystima augustifolio 
Permettya mucronata 
Phillyrea decora 
Picea stichensis 
Pinus excelsa 
Pinus Jeffreyi 
Pyracantha coccinea var. 

Lalandii 
Pyracantha coccinea var. 

Pauciflora 
Quercus macedonica 
Quercus Libani 
Rhamnus Alaternus 
Rhamnus hybrida 
Rhododendron ponticum 
Sequoia sempervirens 
Sequoia Washingtoniana 
Smilax laurifolia 
Thuya gigantea (Thuya 

pilcata) 
Thujopsis dolobrata 
Torreya laxifolia 
Tsuga mertensiana 
Ulex europeus 



In the development of our knowledge of ef- 
fective Evergreen planting for the home land- 
scape, we owe much to a study of the gardens 
of Italy and of Japan. 

We may not have the Italian landscape in 
America, but from that beautiful land we may 
glean, as already we have gleaned, many a hint 



156 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

in the matter of enhancing the home landscape 
by the judicious planting of attractive Ever- 
greens. Our own Hudson River Valley hill- 
sides and those of some other parts of Amer- 
ica contain a hint of decorative value in the 
casual growth of small Cypress-shaped Ever- 
greens. 

In selecting Evergreens for particular pur- 
poses the following hints as to appropriate spe- 
cies may prove valuable to the garden begin- 
ner. For dry soil: Juniperus Virginiana, 
Pinus Mughus, Picea pugens and Pinus Stro- 
bus. For marshy localities: Juniperus Vir- 
giniana (var. Barbadensis), Thuya occiden- 
tal, Picea nigra, Taxodium distichum, Larix 
Laricina and Chamaecyparis thuyoides. For 
heavy soil: Tsuga Canadensis, Pinus Strobus, 
Abies Nordmanniana are recommended. For 
light soil: Juniperus Virginiana, Pinus Stro- 
bus and Chamaecyparis Pinus rigida may be 
utilized. The Pinus resinosa and the Pinus 
Strobus will prove excellent for woodland ef- 
fects and woodland planting, as also will 
Tsuga Canadensis, and in dry locations Juni- 
perus Canadensis. 

Among the Evergreens of the tall-growing 



EVERGREENS 157 

varieties the hardiest are the Picea pugens, 
Pinus ponderosa, Pinus Strobus, Pinus sylves- 
tris, Picea Engelmanni, Pseudotsuga Doug- 
lassi and Abies concolor. Of the hardy dwarf 
species one may recommend Pinus montana 
(var. Mughus), Chamascyparis Retinispora 
and Picea nigia (var. Doumettii) . Nearly all 
home grounds of any extent, especially in the 
northern part of the country, need something 
in the way of planting to serve as a windbreak. 
The intelligent use of Evergreens for this pur- 
pose deserves encouragement. Even from the 
point of view of economy, Evergreens serve a 
practical purpose when placed effectively and 
ornamentally as a wind-shield in proximity to 
a home, as it will be found that such a screen 
will materially reduce the extent of the coal 
supply otherwise needed to heat the building. 
The Norway Spruce and the Scotch Pine are 
extensively used as windbreaks. Of the two, 
the Norway Spruce is the longer lived. The 
Austrian Pine, the Douglas Spruce and the 
White Spruce are also to be recommended. In 
the eastern section of the country the Hemlock 
is a good tree for the use under consideration 
as also is the green form of the Colorado Blue 



158 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

Spruce (the blue form is rare and more ex- 
pensive, hence less generally used for ordinary 
hedging). The American Arbor-vitse must 
not be left out of consideration in this connec- 
tion. The Taxus cuspidata, Taxis baccata, 
Picea excelsa, Picea nigra, Chamgecyparis 
plumosa and Thuya occidentalis make excel- 
lent hedges. For shade Picea Canadensis and 
Picea excelsa and also Pinus Strobus, Pinus 
sylvestris and many of the Pinus species may 
be depended on, while Thuya orientalis, Thuya 
occidentalis, Juniperus and all varieties of 
Chamsecyparis are unsuited for shade trees. 
Evergreens are especially valuable in the home 
landscape for massing at entrances. The 
proper placing of such trees requires careful 
thought and planning, for Evergreens should 
never be so grouped as to appear dismal notes 
in an otherwise cheerful area or of forbidding 
dignity. Among the Evergreens for massing 
purposes one may mention Pinus montana 
(var. Mughus), Tsuga Canadensis macro- 
phylla, Juniperus communis, Thuya occiden- 
talis, Picea excelsa, Chamsecyparis, Taxus, 
Pinus Strobus and Picea pugens (var. 
glauca), all excellent for the purpose. For 



EVERGREENS 159 

seaside planting Pinus Strobus, Pinus mon- 
tana (var. Mughus), Pinus resinosa, Juni- 
perus Pinus Bungeana, Juniperus Sabina, 
Pinus Austriaca, Juniperus communis and 
Pinus sylvestris are good growers. 



XXIII 

GARDENS AND ARCHITECTURE 

THERE was a time in the history of 
American gardens when even a sum- 
mer-house was an exception, an ar- 
bor the introduction of a dweller of foreign 
birth. Now and then one would meet with a 
garden structure somewhat resembling the 
pilot-house of a Mississippi River steamboat 
or would come across an unattractive cast-iron 
Stork-and-Pond-Lily garden seat. Even the 
arbors (for the most part lattice-work resem- 
bling Winnebago wigwams) were unshaded 
by the vines that should have adorned them. 

Architecture and gardens had, in that not 
very remote dark age of our national art prog- 
ress, about as much interest one in the other, 
as had good taste, and the dwelling-houses that 
emphasized the American art hiatus roughly 
bounded by 1850-1890, with sins and virtues 

160 




Photo by Nathan R. Graves Co. 
THERE IS BEAUTY IX THE WELL-PLACED GARDEN ARCH 



GARDENS AND ARCHITECTURE 161 

either side of these years but with few virtues 
between them. 

However, we are now in a settled stage when 
gardens and architecture not only are on speak- 
ing terms with one another but indulge in what 
undoubtedly is to be a lasting and construc- 
tive intimacy. Now and then the attention of 
garden-makers seems focussed upon some one 
phase of garden architecture — terrace, the per- 
gola or the arbor. Each in its turn becomes 
the center of interest. However, this does not 
mean that there is any facldism about it. 
Though the pergola became the fashion it has 
never ceased to be in fashion. And so it is 
with all architectural garden features of ex- 
cellence. 

Good gardens, so far as architectural fea- 
tures are concerned — whether they be balus- 
trades or bird-houses — should dispense with 
the bizarre. Artistic, simple lines, freely in- 
spired but dictated by the canons of good 
taste, should disclose the design of any archi- 
tectural features that we may incorporate with 
our gardens. In the matter of rustic garden 
features the sins of commission have, in the 
past, become, perhaps, the most numerous. 



162 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

Good rustic garden architecture requires sim- 
plicity and directness of design. Otherwise an 
over-elaborately worked-out arbor, garden- 
house or pergola ceases to be restful and be- 
comes, instead, a disturbing feature in the gar- 
den landscape. 

The material employed in the construction 
of any garden feature of architectural genre 
is a matter of the utmost importance. Too 
often there is a little or no relationship between 
materials employed in building a garden- 
house, lattice-work, a pergola or an arbor and 
the materials employed in the dwelling adja- 
cent to the garden where these architectural 
adornments find their place. While there 
need not, in all cases, be a stated material in 
common use, there should be a harmonious re- 
lationship maintained; as, for instance, when 
one finds a brick house in the Pennsylvania 
Colonial style (the exterior trim painted 
white) giving hint that a white wood pergola, 
white trellis work or a white arbor along sim- 
ple lines suggesting the Colonial would be an 
appropriate garden accessory. 

There are few features in the garden of 
flowering plants that are more deserving of at- 



GARDENS AND ARCHITECTURE 163 

tention and less deserving of the neglect they 
suffer, than garden arches. Perhaps garden- 
beginners are prone to overlook the possibili- 
ties in this direction. It is not enough to plant 
flowering things, have them spring up and bear 
blossoms, to constitute a garden. 

A garden is something more than a display 
of a number of plants. It is a creation of 
man's ingenuity in devising ways and means 
of intensifying the beauties of plant growth by 
selection, arrangement, color, contrast and de- 
sign. Thus it happens that after a time every 
garden-maker instinctively turns his attention 
to the structural side of gardening. Perhaps 
his first season has found him content to plant 
a bed of things and watch them grow, rejoic- 
ing and finding satisfaction in their reaching 
florescence unretarded. But later he will wish 
to make a "house of flowers" as it were, even 
to imitate some of nature's plant arrangements. 
He will wish to construct arbors, mazes, formal 
and sunken gardens, he will wish to sow a cor- 
ner with old fashioned flowers which shall fill 
the vista with a blaze of unpatterned gorgeous- 
ness, but if he finds that the bit of ground at his 
disposal is not sufficient to permit these experi- 



164 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

merits to any extent, he will still gain satisfac- 
tion in constructing a garden arch. This may 
be simple or elaborate as good taste and suita- 
bility dictate. Indeed the garden arch is com- 
ing into its own as an architectural adornment 
and few features more successfully "knit" the 
garden plot to the house. 

Finally there is the friendly dooryard. A 
charm ever lingered about the old-world door- 
yard that too often is lacking in our own. We 
have been wont to feel that so long as we bar- 
ricaded our premises with fences we were ob- 
taining seclusion, or that in removing them we 
were lending to our lawns an appearance of 
inviting hospitality. Now, fortunately, we 
have turned in the right direction, and the 
friendly dooryard is coming to be one of the 
features of our successful homes, whether cot- 
tages or villas. We are learning the most at- 
tractive materials to use in building garden 
walks, to terrace our dooryards when they need 
it, to screen our porches without producing 
gloomy effects; withal, to make the entrance 
part informal and inviting without sacrificing 
its dignity. 

In the days of our great-grandmothers the 



GARDENS AND ARCHITECTURE 165 

old-fashioned flowers and shrubs added greatly 
to the attractive house approach. As a mat- 
ter of fact, those old-fashioned plants became 
old-fashioned because we let bad taste — that is 
to say, the lack of it — creep into our efforts in 
home-making, and this crowded out so much 
that was lovely everywhere. But we have re- 
turned to happy paths once more, and again 
the beautiful blossoms of yesterday's garden 
may now be found in our own, gracing our 
dooryards and making us feel, every time we 
set foot within our premises, that our homes 
are just that much lovelier for our having 
given thought to the matter of the friendly 
dooryard, not only for our own satisfaction 
but that our neighbor, too, may bless us. 



XXIV 



SUNDIAL MOTTOES 



DO you recall Cicero's letter to Tiro — 
his wishing a sundial for his villa in 
Tusculum? But it was no novelty 
there, for the Babylonians had given it to the 
Greeks nearly half a thousand years before 
that day when Cicero sat writing to his friend. 
Perhaps no garden ornament is of greater an- 
cientry. While we do not need sundials in 
small gardens, we still love them for their own 
association's sake, and so we shall keep on 
placing them there, and we shall, many of us, 
indulge in the absorbing occupation of finding 
just the sentiments we wish to have conveyed 
by inscriptions. To the true garden-lover a 
garden sundial without its motto is not a sun- 
dial at all! 

There is much literature on the subject of 
sundials to be found and among the volumes 

166 




Photo by Xatliao R. Graves Co. 
THE PERFECT GARDEN SHOULD HAVE ITS SUNDIAL 



SUNDIAL MOTTOES 1671 

that comprise it, "Ye Sundial Book" will lend 
many delightful and appropriate verses com- 
posed by its author, Mr. T. C. W. Henslow. 
Quotations from the classics in the original 
Greek or Latin seem to be giving way to lines 
in English that may please those unversed in 
the mysteries of other than the mother-tongue 
who chance to pause to trace their import. 
The author has taken the following from one 
of his travel notebooks in which, from time to 
time, he has jotted down such sundial inscrip- 
tions as have held his fancy. 

1 

"I number none but the cloudless hours." 

2 
"Shadow owes its birth to light.' WGay. 

3 

"O sun! of this great world both eye and 
soul."— Milton. 

4 

"The sun with one eye vieweth all the 
world." — Shakespeare. 

5 

"The selfsame sun that shines upon his court 



168 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

Hides not his visage from our cottage, but 
looks on all alike." — Shakespeare. 

6 
"Time is the wisest counsellor." — Pericles. 

7 
"Time stoops to no man's lure." — Swin- 
burne. 

8 

"Who loses a day loses life." — Emerson. 

9 

"To choose time is to save time." — Bacon. 

10 
"Time flies over us, but leaves its shadow 
behind." — Hawthorne. 

11 

"Time stands with impartial law." — Man- 
lius. 

12 

"Time conquers all, and we must time obey." 
i — Pope. 

13 

"Nae man can tether time or tide." — Burns. 



SUNDIAL MOTTOES 169 

14 
"Dost thou love life, then do not squander 
time. " — Franklin. 

15 

"Noiseless falls the foot of Time 

That only treads on flowers." 

.. fi Spencer. 

"To-morrow's fate, though thou be wise, 

Thou canst not tell nor yet surmise; 

Pass, therefore, not to-day in vain, 

For it will never come again." 

Omar Khayyam. 

17 

"His labor is to chant, 

His idleness a tune; 

Oh, for a bee's experience 

Of clovers and of noon!" 

Emily Dickinson. 

18 

"Far from gay cities and the ways of men." 

— Homer. 

19 

"Ye sacred Nine! that all my soul possess 

Bear me, O bear me to sequestered scenes, 

The bow'ry mazes, and surrounding greens." 

Pope. 



170 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

20 

"He who has lived a day has lived an age." 
— Bruyere. 

21 
"Flowers preach to us if we will hear." — 
Christina G. Rossetti. 

22 
"Sweet flowers are slow, and weeds make 
haste." — Shakespeare. 

23 
"An album is a garden, not for show 
Planted, but use; where wholesome herbs 
should grow." — Charles Lamb. 
24 
"Nature never did betray 
The heart that loved her." 

Wordsworth. 
25 
"Stand still and behold the wondrous works 
of God."— Bible. 

26 
"The day is thine, the night is also Thine; 
Thou hast prepared the light and the sun, 
Thou hast set all the borders of the earth, 
Thou hast made summer and winter." 

Bible. 



SUNDIAL MOTTOES 17i 

27 

"Wisdom adorns riches, and shadows pov- 
erty." — Socrates. 

28 
"But they whom truth and wisdom lead 
Can gather honey from a weed." 

Cowper. 
29 
"Take Time by the forelock."— Thales. 

30 

"The Spring, the Summer, the chilling Au- 
tumn, angry Winter, changed their wonted liv- 
eries." — Shakespeare. 

31 

"Each day is the pupil of yesterday." — Pub- 
lius Syrus. 

32 
Eternity, thou art To-morrow! 

33 

"What is human is immortal." — Bulwer- 
Lytton. 

34 

"The seed dies into a new life and so does 
man." — George McDonald. 



172 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

35 

"One hour of joy dispels the cares 
And sufferings of a thousand years." 

Baptiste. 
36 
' 'Where in the world are we?" — Cicero. 
37 
"Ye may have heard some wise man say 
The past is what we make to-day." 
38 
A lesson take, a lesson give : 
Make worthy all the hours you live. 

39 
No man will waste the hours away 
Who knows how precious is a day. 

40 
Within this garden here behold 
What love and labor turned to gold. 
41 
I mark the hours as they come and go 
Canst thou a task as faithful, good friend, 
show? 

42 
"The Shadows rise, the shadows fall, 
Man sees but part, though God sees all." 

Henslow. 



SUNDIAL MOTTOES 173 

43 

If thou wouldst make thy life sublime 
Then make a friend of Father Time. 

44 
The hours of the day I tell 
Stay, stranger, dost thou half so well? 

45 

If you would have a garden fair plant seeds 
Of worth and eagerly cast forth the weeds. 

46 
Without the sun my hours thou canst not see 
Let wisdom shine upon the hours with thee. 

47 
Friend, though my pace seems slow 
The day will come when swift my steps shall 
go! 

48 

Daybreak to eventide, 
Time by my side ! 

49 

And dost thou know the secret of the flow'rs? 
Then canst thou hope to know that of the 
hours ? 



174 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

50 

"Methinks it were a happy life 
To carve out dials quaintly point by point." 

Shakespeare. 




Photo by Nathan R. Graves Co. 
A LITTLE GARDEN OF BULB FLOWERS 



XXV 

THROUGH THE YEAR IN A LITTLE GARDEN 

JANUARY 

A HAPPY New Year — a new year 
whose coming season of lovely flow- 
ers, luxuriant verdure and fields of 
the green of growing things will make us for- 
get the stillness and bleakness of white winter- 
time, when all the earth seems sleeping, and 
when the creaking of the frost crystals under- 
foot, as we step forth these crisp mornings, al- 
most startles us with a sense of the loss that 
seems ours since yesterday's beautiful Sum- 
mer was gently led by the hand of Autumn to 
this Wintry couch. We were wont to wend 
our way through August's woodlands and if a 
twig snapped at our step it only seemed to 
awaken an echo caught up by the rustling of 
leaves, the murmur of the clear waters of the 

175 



176 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

gurgling spring, the voice of the golden- 
throated oriole, the buzzing of the bumble bee 
or the brushing of the frond of the Lady Fern 
against the great gray rock to which she clung 
for protection when mischievous Ariel began 
his endless pranks. 

But now the creaking snow is jealous of all 
nature, and the sound of your tread goes forth 
like the shots of a miniature battery. The sun 
will take revenge at noontime and now and 
then dash to the earth some too-presuming 
icicle that dares to cling to the branches of the 
elm by the garden path. And Old Sol will 
keep the face of the time-marking dial down 
there free from being smothered by the relent- 
less tyrant of the season, and if your fancy so 
directs you may stroll in your garden in Janu- 
ary after all and not find that the magic of 
Jack Frost's fantastic doings has blotted out 
the memory of the delicate handiwork embroi- 
dered through the months of the Summer 
solstice by goddess Flora herself. How the 
place in a man's heart, the Garden, keeps warm 
the thought of nodding Daisies, fragrant 
Heliotropes and the sun-kissed Golden Glow! 
We may shiver through the months of the short 



THROUGH THE YEAR IN A GARDEN 177 

days and the long nights, but nothing can make 
us forget the chirp of the cricket, the freshness 
of the Phlox, and O — mundane wholesome 
thought! — the delectable rows of ripening 
vegetables ! 

The grapes, peach trees, currants and some 
other small fruits may now need the attention 
of the pruning knife, though there will be lit- 
tle else of actual outside work to be done. 

We may be sitting indoors these wintry 
nights industriously intent on the tasks before 
every man, woman and child in the land of 
ours, and as our thoughts are on those dear ones 
far away, we may perchance, recall the delight 
we found that time we discovered Stevenson's 
"Underwoods" with those three last verses of 
"Ille Terrarum," the first line coming to mind 

"An' noo the Winter winds complain; 3 ' 

leading us to 

"An' Fancy traivels far afield 
To gaither a' that gairdens yield 

O' sun an Simmer: 
To hearten up a dome chield 

Fancy's the limmerl" 



178 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

FEBRUARY 

St. Valentine's month is this, dedicated to 
the Bleeding-heart, the Dicentra of our old- 
fashioned garden. The snows still cling to the 
ground. Even the courageous Crocus will not 
be so foolhardy as to be peeping its little head 
above the generous blanket of earth which good 
Mother Nature has lent it for weeks to come. 
I often wonder why it is that those who profess 
to love gardening are so content to occupy 
themselves with but one phase of its delights 
— the planting, and why they give so little 
thought to the matter of the planning. The 
old-fashioned gardens of days gone by were 
good gardens because they were well-planned 
gardens. As we sit around the warm fireside 
these February evenings, with Winter's ves- 
ture still with us outside, we may conjure to 
the mind's eye visions of our gardens-to-be, 
even though our hands be occupied with other 
tasks. If in the maelstrom of the year's oc- 
cupations a little leisure is now and then ours 
to give to the thought of those gardens on 
which so much depends after all, we may dig 
into the lore with which the ever delightful and 



THROUGH THE YEAR IN A GARDEN 179 

ever welcome catalogues of seedsmen and 
nurserymen are annually fraught. It is all 
very well to peep out one's window upon the 
snowbound landscape of the wintry lawn and 
to say to oneself, "Summer is a long way off! 
It will be time enough to be bothering about 
gardens when the Snow-drop peeps up and the 
birds return." Now those who consider gar- 
dening a "bother" at all may as well leave it 
alone as to go at it with any thought of its be- 
ing merely drudgery. To such, food necessi- 
ties may appeal as the only impetus to planting 
a row of corn, a hill of cucumbers or a tomato- 
vine. But that is not gardening! At least it 
is not the sort of gardening that puts joy in 
the heart and health in the body. Your true 
gardener, looking out upon the snowy area, 
will say: "Just there those evergreens which 
I planted last Autumn are lending graceful 
color to the season — a Christmas-tree indeed! 
— the brown stems of that little clump of 
shrubbery weave in and out in dignified design 
and every tree casts shadow-patterns on the 
white like the blue embroideries on fair linen. 
Even this wintry season the things I planted 
are faithful to promise they held forth — that 



180 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

I should find joy in them every day in the year, 
and so I shall remember all these things against 
the advent of another winter and make my 
plans now for planting that shall grace every 
season." 

These are the things that will be passing in 
the mind. Then there will come the thought 
of the new catalogues for which one should be 
sending, that in their pages the old favorites 
may be welcomed and new ones discovered. 
Before it is time to be actually working in the 
soil what to plant and where to plant it may 
well be thought out. 

The garden monitors tell us that the middle 
of February is not too early for starting vari- 
ous early vegetables indoors or in the green- 
house, later to be transferred to the hot-beds 
or to the coldframes outside; that (except in 
the colder section of the country), if you have 
rhubarb in your garden from year to year, you 
may begin to force the roots at the end of the 
month an early growth by placing barrels or 
boxes over them and covering with stable 
manure to bring the stocks well in advance of 
their ordinary season; that plum trees and 
cherry trees should be examined for plum-knot, 



THROUGH THE YEAR IN A GARDEN 181 

a plant disease which causes the affected limbs 
and branches to swell. Such should be cut off 
and burned. The garden monitor likewise will 
suggest Rex Begonias and Heliotropes for 
starting from seed in shallow boxes indoors. 
Celery grown from seed may also be started 
indoors late this month, but these require 
loamy starting soil and a moderately warm 
place and frequent watering, though the soil 
must not be soaked or drenched. 

MARCH 

The mere mention of the month of March 
brings to one the vision of Springtime. Alas, 
that we have to confess that the poets who sing 
so pleasantly of the awakening season carry us 
by their enthusiasm beyond the realm of facts 
which we encounter in our climate! We who 
are patiently awaiting the coming of Spring 
and the bursting forth of Earth into buds of 
the Plum, the Peach, the Quince, the Cherry 
and the Apple Blossoms; we who long to dis- 
cover the first Snowdrop or the first Crocus, 
and who look forward to the first purple Hya- 
cinth or the first gorgeous Tulip that shall her- 
ald the coming of the glorious garden-time in 



182 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

earnest; we who wrap ourselves in such ex- 
pectations are apt to be downcast by the stern 
realities of sleet and rain and slush, and the 
favors of goddess Flora deferred. We are apt 
then to be angry with the poets, to wish to re- 
organize the calendar, or to find a subterfuge 
for our disappointments in the old adage that 
gives March's entrance the similitude of that 
of the Lion or of the Lamb as the case may be. 
However we shall find stirring us into a hap- 
pier frame of mind that indefinable something 
that tells us with unerring certainty when 
Spring is here, despite any of the astronomical 
observations of the industriously wise to the 
contrary in point of time. 

So let us not expect to hasten Nature's 
bounty, and do not let us become impatient be- 
cause we cannot. Instead, let us remember 
what a lot of things we really have on hand this 
month to think about in preparing for the sea- 
son soon to arrive. We can do much cleaning 
up in the garden during the spring thaws that 
are sure to come this month. If our last year's 
gardening was not completely successful by 
reason of our not having been able to obtain 
sufficient fertilizing material, we may do well 



THROUGH THE YEAR IN A GARDEN 183 

now to arrange for the supply of stable or of 
barnyard manure that this year's garden will 
require. 

Of course hardy Roses should be pruned 
before the latter part of the month — one can- 
not dream of fine gardens, neglect this prun- 
ing and expect the Roses to be all they should 
be. Grapevines and fruit trees will need 
pruning, too, though of course the experienced 
gardener will know that neither bush, fruit 
(berries) nor shrubs that flower early should 
be pruned at this time in the northern sections 
of the country as such a procedure might prove 
fatal to their growth. Apricot and Peach 
trees should be sprayed before April first. 

By having a hot-bed or a coldframe one may 
steal a march on the season. Glazed sash for 
the purpose may readily be obtained through 
one's local seedsman or directly from manu- 
facturers of greenhouses. As to the seeds to 
sow this month in the hotbed, there will be let- 
tuce, peas, cabbage, cauliflower, onions, rad- 
ishes and celery and, south of Baltimore, mel- 
ons, cucumbers and tomatoes may be started 
early in the month. Asparagus beds and rhu- 



184 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

barb rows should be put in shape as soon as 
the weather permits. 

APRIL 

April, traditional rainy-month, cannot 
quench the ardor of the garden-maker. Even 
though storms compel him to remain indoors, 
he will only be reminded that the earth is get- 
ting into condition for his planting enthusiasm, 
and he will be arranging seeds, looking over 
tools, fixing up baskets and making labels and 
stakes against the busy season, when there will 
be less time for these tilings. 

But it will not be raining all day every day, 
and so, here are some of the things to be at- 
tended to outside the house: Asparagus beds 
to be fertilized (Rhubarb beds also) ; mulching 
to be removed from the strawberry bed, cold- 
frames to be put in shape for the tender plants 
that are to be transferred to them from hotbeds 
later in the month; Box edging to be set out 
early; Asparagus beds to be forked lightly 
when the fertilizer has been spread over them, 
and bulb beds to be uncovered later in the 
month. By April fifteenth all spraying 
should be completed. 



THROUGH THE YEAR IN A GARDEN 185 

Cannas, French Marigolds, Lantana, 
Drummond Phlox, Double Petunias, and 
other seeds should be sown within doors under 
cover for later transplanting. Pips of the 
Lily-of -the- Valley should be started without 
delay. For vegetables, onions, beets, egg- 
plants, peppers and tomatoes are among those 
that should be started from seed in flats. Let- 
tuce can be sown outside in hotbeds. 

While the experienced garden-makers do not 
need to be reminded that good soil is essential 
to the good garden, every one will readily un- 
derstand the needs of plant physiology, that 
plants are, after all, very much like living be- 
ings in respect to their response to environ- 
ment and proper nourishment, yet how one 
sees a garden beginner contenting himself with 
the thought that because he has purchased 
packages of seeds of his favorite flowers or of 
the vegetables which may appeal to his palate, 
and having scattered these seeds upon indif- 
ferent soil, trusting in his sublime ignorance of 
gardening essentials to Nature's strugglings 
against all odds to produce for him the little 
garden of his dreams. Instead he should be 
studying soil problems before seeding at all. 



186 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

Depth and mellowness of soil are things he 
must have for his garden. The reason is ob- 
vious. Without depth the rootlets cannot find 
their way to avoid the baked condition of the 
upper soil during periods of drought, and with- 
out mellowness it cannot be open to amelio- 
rating atmospheric influences so necessary to 
successful plant growth. By the first week 
in April the garden maker should put a manu- 
rial dressing on the plot that is to become the 
vegetable garden. Asparagus and rhubarb 
beds must also have fertilizers of this sort or 
nitrate of soda. 

When all danger of frost is past and the 
earth is therefore fit for digging, we shall be 
ready for plowing and spading. An early 
garden is always worth the effort but judg- 
ment must be exercised in fitting its planting 
to the exigencies of the season in the various 
localities of America. At this time one may 
thin out the various perennials by dividing 
their roots. April spraying operations will 
not be overlooked by the careful garden-maker 
who will be remembering that Roses should be 
sprayed with a solution of whale-oil soap and 
that about the middle of the month and every 



THROUGH THE YEAR IN A GARDEN 187 

ten days thereafter and that apples, black- 
berries, dewberries, pears, quinces and raspber- 
ries need to be sprayed before budding and 
cherries just before their buds open. Seedling 
Hollyhocks should be sprayed with Bordeaux 
mixture towards the end of the month. Elms 
should also be sprayed in April in preparation 
of the season's battle against the pests that in- 
fest them. 

MAY 

May, birthday of gardens! I wonder if 
there is a more loved month in the whole Cal- 
endar? Surely not one that is more to the 
poets' taste, when, as old-time Edmund Spen- 
ser was wont to sing, 

"the boughes doe laughing blossoms beare" 

The practical will tell us that we should forget 
poetry and take to planting, as though plant- 
ing were not poetry, as though ancient Virgil 
had not known how to make vegetable-grow- 
ing as luscious to literature as pepper-pods are 
to the perpetually prosaic! After all, what 
are our gardens for? Just to furnish us with 



188 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

food? What joy would there be in the dig- 
ging, the seeding, the cultivating if every cauli- 
flower stood to us for cookery, every cucumber 
as a pickle and every lettuce as a salad! Of 
course with the proper appetite expected of 
every normal one of us that our table should be 
laden with home grown things gives us a sense 
of satisfaction. But is that not quite as much 
from the pride we take in our ability to grow 
all these delicacies, as from the knowledge that 
they will serve as space-fillers for empty man? 
With the coming of May I always think of 
Hawthorn boughs laden with billowy white 
blossoms — here and there a pink-domed shrub 
— when the May days return; and yet there 
are no Hawthorns where my garden grows! 
That I have taken from the poets, and have 
given it to the cabbages, the butter-beans, the 
radishes and parsnips as grace to their utility. 
But it is not, gentle reader, that I would neg- 
lect the vegetables to go a-Maying! Instead, 
the contemplation of everything lovely in na- 
ture lends to an enthusiasm for the rows, and 
hills and trellises of To-morrow's table-things. 
In fact I make sure that there is reasonable 
doubt of late frosts before I rush recklessly to 



THROUGH THE YEAR IN A GARDEN 189 

transplant from hot-bed to garden the tender 
growing things. 

In the exciting gardening for May the one 
who for the first time engages in the delec- 
table occupation of coaxing Mother Earth to 
be kind to all efforts to make a back yard an 
Eden, the front one a paradise of lovely grow- 
ing things, the initial enthusiasm must not per- 
mit the overlooking the fact that the old-time 
enemy of all garden-makers since gardens first 
were — Jack Frost — may still be lurking in am- 
bush of the promise of an early season. I 
know of no greater discouragement that at- 
tends the garden-maker than that of encoun- 
tering late frosts, unprepared for them. But 
the experienced gardener seldom permits him- 
self to be caught in this slyly placed trap. 
While it happens, now and then, that Nature 
seems unkind enough to wax mirthful over 
man's effort and amuses herself at his expense 
with unexpected storms, atmospheric changes 
and freakish weather, the seasons are, on the 
whole, dependable and the garden-maker has 
only to study their ancestry. 

However, the March-sown hardy annuals 
will be coming on for transplanting from hot- 



190 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

bed and coldframe this month and May should 
find all seeds of hardy annuals in the ground 
for the regular season of bloom or of matur- 
ity, though succession planting can, of course, 
extend through a later period. With the 
ground free from frost there will be the hardy 
perennials to be shifted in rearranging the bor- 
ders. This operation should be delayed till 
the end of the month in most of the northerly 
sections of the country. The second week in 
May should find one spraying the Rose bushes 
again with whale-oil soap, and immediately 
after blooming the Spring flowering shrubs 
should be pruned. In the strawberry bed the 
newly set plants should have their blossoms 
"pinched" (removed) and the old plants 
should be mulched with clean straw to conserve 
moisture for the roots and ultimately to pro- 
tect the fruit from dust as well as to discour- 
age grassy weeds. 

I know the eminently practical will feel out- 
raged that I should mention Birds in the same 
breath with Strawberries! But I never think 
of melons or apple-trees without thought too, 
of the small boy's enjoyment of them; so let 



THROUGH THE YEAR IN A GARDEN 191 

me confess that to my mind there never was a 
truly successful garden — strawberries notwith- 
standing — that was not also a playground for 
birds. Garden-makers should not forget their 
little feathered friends. Let them plant Sun- 
flowers with this in mind, and in the late Au- 
tumn, when Jack Frost in sportive mood has 
nipped the noses of all the Petunias and has 
finally overcome even the tenacious Salvia, the 
tall stems crowned with ripened Sunflower 
seeds will sway with the weight of some throng 
of finches and will seem to the birds you have 
loved — if you have not loved your strawber- 
ries more ! — a store of reward for their summer 
service in keeping down the obnoxious insects 
even though some other choice morsel does oc- 
casionally get mixed up with their missionary 
work! 

As trees are so much the part of the perfect 
garden, May work is requisite to their best ap- 
pearance. One has already to be alert in the 
fight against the Elm-leaf beetle and elms 
should now be sprayed in order that later war- 
fare against these pests may prove fully ef- 
fective. 



192 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

JUNE 

When we walk around our gardens let us 
neither waste breath in sighing over the ab- 
sence of the plants we neglected or forgot to 
provide nor be envious of our more careful and 
perhaps experienced neighbor. I often think 
a little disappointment of this sort is the leaven 
which leaveneth the mass of appreciation of 
those garden delights which, another time, will 
be the reward of our forethought. It will be 
hard to miss the Roses we should have set out, 
the Columbines we overlooked or the Peonies 
to which we paid no attention last Fall, but 
we should take all the more joy in the posses- 
sion of what we have, learning to love the few 
things of our own instead of making ourselves 
miserable over the many things of our neigh- 
bors. You see Philosophy and Garden-mak- 
ing are inseparable unless one descends to the 
state of becoming a planter or a harvester. I 
suppose there will always be in the world some 
who find no pleasure in growing things, to 
whom Nature appears a matter of dirt, bram- 
bles and potatoes, something to be kept some- 
where out in the back yard in contradistinction 



THROUGH THE YEAR IN A GARDEN 193 

to the satisfaction such find in unadorned mac- 
adamized expanses of avenue and sidewalk. 
Fortunately, however, the Genius of Garden- 
ing trusts nothing to their keeping, and so it 
happens that the traditions of the gardener's 
art are safe with us. 

And what a month of joy fulness is June in 
the garden! It seems only yesterday that we 
were coaxing Mother Nature to lift her white 
blanket that Spring might awaken to new life 
the sleeping plants that lend their color to the 
season. We are reminded of all the poets of 
the garden, of Wordsworth, of Tennyson and 
certainly of old Geoffrey Chaucer's 

"Along the meadows green, whereof I told, 

The freshly springing Daisy to behold, 

And when the sun declined from South to 

West, 
And closed was this fair flower, and gone to 

rest, 
For fear of darkness that she held in dred, 
Home to my house full hastily I sped; 
And in a little garden of my own, 
Well benched with fresh cut turf, with grass 

overgrown 



194. A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

I bade that men my couch should duly make; 

For daintiness and for Summer's sake, 

I bade them strew fresh blossoms o'er my bed." 

There will be fortunate ones among us who 
will find the lovely Columbine blossoming this 
month, yellow or scarlet, red, purple or white, 
flower of strangely contrasted names borrow- 
ing "Columbine" from the Latin Columba, a 
dove, and its scientific name, "Aquilegia" from 
aquila, an eagle ! In the old, old days of yore, 
credulous folk called it Lion's Herb, believ- 
ing that it was the favorite food of these fierce 
denizens of desert and jungle. Nowadays we 
fondly couple the name Columbine with Co- 
lumbia, and even find an association of enthusi- 
asts who seek its adoption as the national 
flower of America just as the Rose is for Eng- 
land and the Lily for France — God bless them 
all! Monkshood will be blossoming in June, 
too. It is a lovely plant, but a sinister one. 
It was brewed by Medes to fill the poisoned cup 
offered the wary Theseus. It was with the 
juice of Monkshood (Aconite) that the an- 
cients used to anoint their weapons when pre- 
paring to do battle, and the old-time Greeks 



THROUGH THE YEAR IN A GARDEN 195 

were wont to tell how Chiron the Centaur dis- 
covered its dread powers by dropping upon 
his hoof an arrow that had been dipped in the 
juice of the plant, his death accompanying 
his discovery. They believed too that Monks- 
hood was sown in the Garden of Hecate by 
Cerberus, the three-headed monster who 
guarded the Place of Shadows. But June's 
garden will find within its borders flowers of 
less sorrowful an ancestry — Campanula (Ve- 
nus's Looking-glass), Iris (Lily of France), 
Honeysuckle, Hollyhock, Jasmine (Flower O' 
Love of the Arabs) , the Rose, Pyrethrum, Sal- 
piglossis, Schizanthus, Sedum, Spirea, Sweet 
Alyssum, Sweet Peas, Veronica, the Violet 
(sacred to Venus when the gods were still on 
Olympus) and the Larkspur, though that 
beautiful plant has almost as sorrowful a his- 
tory as the Aconite, for was it not this flower, 
whose petals bore marks forming the letters 
A I A, signifying Ajax, terror of the Trojans, 
as Delphinium Ajacis on which was spilled the 
blood of this hero as he fell bleeding upon the 
earth? 

There are many flower lovers who remain 
ignorant of the names of the plants which claim 



196 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

their devotion. This is less evident nowadays 
than it was a few years ago, although in Colo- 
nial times not to know the name of every 
flower or herb in the garden was to indicate a 
tremendous flaw in one's education, an igno- 
rance not to be condoned. One need not know 
that the Quince is Cydonia vulgaris or that 
Mignonette is Reseda odorata, but not to 
know that the Quince is Quince or that the 
Mignonette is Mignonette is misfortune in- 
deed to the gardenmaker who expects to get 
any true enjoyment out of his garden. There 
is, of course, a strong appeal in the mere pleas- 
ant vision of things ; but how much more pleas- 
ure in understanding them! Names were in- 
vented for a purpose — even Latin ones! — and 
every one who professes or who exhibits the 
slightest interest in gardening will appreciate 
the wealth of interest a closer attention to 
plant lore and botany will disclose. Now and 
then we meet with the type of person who calls 
every sort of a flower either a Rose or a Pink, 
but even that is better than to have a flower 
described as "the yellowish flower with vel- 
vety brown center" or "the plant that looks 
like a phonograph horn," which leads you to 



THROUGH THE YEAR IN A GARDEN 197 

guess "Coreopsis" or to wonder which is meant 
— "Petunia or Morning Glory?" Just as it 
is one's obvious duty to know the names of 
one's friends, just so is it one's duty to acquaint 
himself with the names of the plants in his gar- 
den, true friends they should be! Even those 
good folk who can tell you that this is a Ge- 
ranium, that a Heliotrope, are occasionally in- 
different to the nomenclature of varieties of a 
species. A Rose might smell as sweet by any 
other name but its own name has so become as- 
sociated with its fragrance that even old Omar 
could not have imagined any Board of Re- 
vision willing to rename this lovely blossom. 
However, it is not amiss to remember — espe- 
cially when this June time brings us to the 
threshold of the "Month of the Rose"— that 
some Roses are more fragrant than others. 
Do you, gentle reader, know which ones? 
Does not the fragrance of the Tea Rose sug- 
gest the perfume of olden times, that of the 
Yellow Rose the perfume of our grandmother's 
gardens and have not the American Beauty 
Rose and the La France Rose each exquisite 
perfumes as peculiarly their own as the per- 
fume of the red Roses of Samarkand? Ought 



198 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

we not, then, to learn all about our Roses? 
Their names, their varieties, their perfumes, as 
well as their colors and their decorative at- 
tributes ? The garden beginner who aspires to 
Rose-culture will be surprised at the wealth of 
pleasure he will derive from such a study. And 
it is the same with other flowers — Geraniums, 
Begonias, Phlox, even with the wonderful but 
neglected Zinnia. 

While one's garden is to be enjoyed in June, 
one's garden-work is not to be neglected. First 
of all the weeding must be kept up. If it is not 
it will make it all the more difficult for the beds 
to attain the perfection one should seek for 
them, if indeed the plants succeed in surviving 
at all. Let us remember what Shakespeare 
said about it: 

"Now His the spring and weeds are shallow 
rooted; 

Suffer them now and they'll o'ergrow the gar- 
den, 

And choke the herbs for want of husbandry" 

Then neatness is a virtue in gardening as well 
as in other things. Tie up the tomato vines, 



THROUGH THE YEAR IN A GARDEN 199 

trim privet hedges, fill in "thin" places in beds 
and rows, spray the small fruits twice this 
month, and keep a sharp eye open for cut- 
worms. 

The garden maker will find when the plant- 
lets have pushed up through the soil, that for 
reasons not always known, there will, here and 
there, be gaps in the flower rows. However, 
it is not too late to fill in border gaps in June 
when Dwarf Nasturtiums, etc., may be sown 
for later flowering. Coleus cuttings, too, may 
be taken and Portulaca seed planted in places 
partly shaded where other flowers perhaps 
would not thrive so well. 

With vegetable garden disappointments the 
garden beginner must be patient for there is 
still time for additional planting, as late crop 
seeding may now be started for potatoes, car- 
rots, sweet corn, beets, beans, and turnips, as 
well as radishes for succession crops. June is 
also the transplanting time for cabbages, 
cauliflowers, tomatoes, peppers, and for cel- 
ery. And do not forget that insect pests must 
be battled with this month. Cut worms are 
particularly hurtful in the early stages of the 
garden and one must watch the tender young 



200 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

plants carefully. Berry bushes and fruit 
trees should have a couple of June sprayings. 
But even the insect enemies of plants are not 
more damaging than weeds when allowed to 
grow and choke the gardens. By beginning 
the weeding early, and by consistently keeping 
it up, the growing plants will have a fair fight- 
ing chance to reach unstunted maturity. By 
this day-by-day weeding the labor attendant 
on keeping the flower beds and vegetable rows 
in condition will be greatly lessened and the 
pleasure in gardening intensified. The neat- 
ness of the garden which has a privet hedge 
may be also enhanced by trimming the hedge 
at this time. 

JULY 

Now the gardens of our happy anticipations 
are unfolding their myriad beauties. We 
look around the garden plot with satisfaction. 
Even though here and there we find something 
disappointing, it should only inspire us to con- 
tinued effort if our enthusiasm is from the 
heart. Gardens come and go in one sense, but 
in another and in a truer sense they are ours 
forever. June and her Roses, yesterday's 



THROUGH THE YEAR IN A GARDEN 201 

glory, may have passed but Mother Nature has 
not been forgetful of July's place in her af- 
fections, and there are lovely things in the gar- 
den that belong to this month of Mid-summer. 
Sweet Peas, Portulaca, Marigolds, and many 
other annuals will be bursting forth in prolific 
blossom, all of which should be kept carefully 
picked, for if the garden flowers are allowed to 
bloom without cutting they will soon go to seed 
and by the middle of August such a garden 
will be a sorry sight. The late-blooming flow- 
ers such as the Dahlias, Cosmos and Chrysan- 
themums should be encouraged to take on a 
bushlike form by the process of "pinching," 
as thus they will attain the ever-to-be-desired 
compact growth. Many of the herbaceous 
plants such as the Dahlia and the Gladiolus — 
Roses also — should be staked if this has not al- 
ready been done. Perhaps no phase of flower- 
garden care is more apt to be overlooked by 
one inexperienced in gardening than the atten- 
tion of this sort which should be given early 
in the season to all those plants which will come 
to require some support other than that of their 
own stalks. 

July will find Aquilegias still blooming, 



202 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

and Achilles, Bachelors' Buttons, Globe 
Amaranth, Lavatera will be claiming the 
month as their own, sharing it with Balsam, 
Bellflower, Candytuft, Coreopsis, Digitala, 
Evening Primrose, Larkspur, Love-lies-bleed- 
ing, Morning- Glory, the Nasturtium, Phlox 
and many other old-time favorites, not the least 
of which is the Petunia, a lovely flower again 
in fashion. The proficient garden-lover will 
look around his garden for those blossoming 
plants that are producing the loveliest flowers 
and will lose no time in marking them so their 
seed may be secured later when the pods ripen. 
All one's seeds will not be home-grown, of 
course, but there is great pleasure and satis- 
faction to be found in being able to say, "This 
lovely flower has sprung from seed of another 
which I myself planted in my garden." If 
the flower garden is expected to attain its full 
beauty, the soil from which the plants sprung 
must be prevented from becoming hard, flat 
and sunbaked. Flowers as well as vegetables 
need to have the soil from which they spring 
constantly cultivated and properly stirred up. 
As to the vegetable garden, July will find 
one busy there. The garden-maker will be 



THROUGH THE YEAR IN A GARDEN 203 

sowing seed of turnips, bush beans, beets (early 
varieties) during the very first of the month 
and a little later he will be sowing spinach 
seed. If there is a bit of idle ground which 
the harvesting of an early crop has left vacant, 
then peppers, tomatoes, cabbage and celery 
can be transplanted and set out there. The 
wise vegetable gardener never lets a square 
foot of earth lie unproductive. He harvests 
his early crops speedily and puts the idle 
ground to some use. Our war gardens are 
teaching us the valuable lessons of succession 
planting. 

A word about watering the garden: when 
doing this remember that one good, thorough 
wetting-down of the soil will be worth more 
than a dozen mere sprinklings. Surface wet- 
ting may be better than nothing at all, but 
plants are watered not alone to remove the dust 
from their foliage, but to afford the thirsty, 
hardworking roots ample moisture for suste- 
nance. 

July will find pruning to be attended to, 
Roses — hybrid perpetuals — will need cutting 
back five or six inches after their June bloom- 
ing period is over. If they are diligently and 



204 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

patiently cared for without lapse of vigilance 
and properly fertilized one may hope to coax 
forth a second blossoming before frost. 

AUGUST 

Who, this first of the Autumn months, on 
contemplating the full August beauty of the 
garden he has planned and planted, can fail to 
have his soul stirred with the thought of Na- 
ture's marvelous works in the recollection that 
his own hand was so willingly lent to those hu- 
man tasks that seldom fail in such rewards as 
that of the spiritual satisfaction one derives 
on the memorable occasion which these vines, 
crowning gardens with their full glory, should 
be? How grateful we are for the nodding 
Anemones with their white or rose-colored blos- 
soms, for Dicentra, for the Evening Primrose 
still with us, for the gorgeous golden Helian- 
thus, the pale Moonflower, Mignonette, the 
Pinks which claim August for their own, and 
old Snapdragon, ingenious and entertaining. 
Then there is lovely Veronica in royal purple 
and Madam Zinnia, with more colors in her 
attractive raiment than ever artists have 
dreamed of mixing on their palettes. The gar- 



THROUGH THE YEAR IN A GARDEN 205 

den-maker will not forget that perennials to 
be raised from seed should now be sown in 
coldframes. By planting them in frames the 
seeds will escape being washed away by the 
Autumn rains. Then, too, one may plan now 
for the winter garden indoors. Carnations are 
to be brought inside this month from the out- 
door garden where they have been flourishing 
in the open through July. Easter Lilies for 
forcing should be potted at this time. In or- 
der that their bulbs may become thoroughly 
rooted they should be kept in a dark, cool place 
until this start is made. Seedlings set out of 
doors may be transplanted to small pots 
"plunged" in soil and removed indoors as soon 
as frost threatens to make its first appearance. 
In "plunging" the pots for out-of-door plant 
growth, the garden-maker will not forget to 
lift the pots every now and then to break off 
the roots that may have pushed down through 
the opening at the bottom of the pots, thus tak- 
ing hold firmly in the external soil. Such am- 
bitious root stragglers must not be allowed to 
do this. Plants should be watched carefully 
and all cutworms removed by hand. Spraying 



206 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

with an arsenite solution is useful, but not for 
table plants. 

The maker of a garden may well be deciding 
now whether or not the plot of ground it com- 
prises would become more interesting and at- 
tractive by the planting of one or more Ever- 
greens. There is, of course, quite as often a 
tendency to overplant as there is to under- 
plant, although our garden-makers are over- 
coming this fault more and more, and are now 
appreciative of the fact that a lawn should not 
be choked with shrubs, even though the indi- 
vidual specimens are very beautiful in them- 
selves, but should be adorned with discrimina- 
tion and judgment by placing a shrub just 
where it is needed and only where it is needed 
to produce as perfect an effect as possible. We 
are also getting away from the "lonesome pine" 
effects in Evergreen planting, and are now 
well versed in the more cheerful arrangements 
followed by the modern landscape architects. 

If the garden-maker wishes to save a year 
in the matter of a maturing strawberry bed, 
potted strawberry plants should be set out at 
this time. In the milder parts of the country 
peas, bushbeans, cucumbers for pickles, sakura- 



THROUGH THE YEAR IN A GARDEN 207, 

jima, spinach and beets for greens may be sown 
immediately for autumn use. Of course with 
late plantings there is always a chance to be 
taken; however, experimenting is one of the 
chief delights of the truly enthusiastic gar^ 
dener, and although he may encounter many 
disappointments, his successes, even though 
only occasional, will seem to him fit reward for 
all the trouble he may have taken. Indeed, 
the writer has known of garden enthusiasts who 
have sown extra early corn at this time, and 
have had their adventuresomeness rewarded 
with ears fit to eat long after their neighbors 
had given up all thought of this delectable 
vegetable for themselves. 

Especial attention must be given to water- 
ing the garden this month. All plants should 
be watered freely, and evening is the best time 
for such work. Tree Hydrangeas especially 
will respond to such watering and reward the 
garden-maker with unusually large clusters of 
flowers. Many garden beginners make the 
mistake of letting the flowers in their gardens 
ripen their seed-pods. Permit only such pods 
as you are saving for seed to ripen. All others 
should be pinched off. This will extend the 



208 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

blossoming period of the flowering plants. 
Nitrate of soda and a little bone meal scat- 
tered on the soil at the roots of the flowering 
plants will, after watering, do wonders in the 
way of fostering proline bloom. Time must 
also be given to the various small fruit bushes 
this month for old canes should be cut from the 
berry bushes and the small fruited bushes be 
made trim for their winter rest. 

We look to the woods for wild flowers, but 
all garden-makers are not blessed with living 
near to fields and woodlands. However, such 
need not be denied the flowers closest to Na- 
ture's heart. Every one may have a wild- 
flower garden as it is now possible to buy 
seeds, bulbs and plants of wild flowers from 
dealers who specialize in them and are glad 
to give information and cultural directions to 
those who purchase wild-flower seeds and 
plants from them. Some of the most interest- 
ing small gardens have wild-flower nooks and 
corners. Garden-makers who have given at- 
tention to wild-flower culture develop an en- 
thusiasm for this sort of gardening that is in 
no sense secondary to that which other garden- 
ing things inspire. 



THROUGH THE YEAR IN A GARDEN 209 

And one must not forget the vegetables! 
The delight to be derived from a well-planted 
vegetable garden that has thriven and has be- 
come luxuriantly productive is not alone a 
mundane one. It is not because this is a tur- 
nip or that is a beet that one's heart gives a lit- 
tle bound on beholding these things growing 
in his garden; it is because they remind him 
that vegetable-growing depends upon more 
than dropping a chance seed in a hole in the 
ground, that the successful vegetable garden 
is only possible through the careful attention 
one gives to it and his interest in it. 

SEPTEMBER 

To the average person there is scarcely a 
more interesting month in the season than that 
of September in the garden. It is a month 
which finds us forgiving to July's torrid heart- 
lessness, August's uncertain temperament, and 
although it may bring the blazing sun forth 
to our temporary discomfiture, the nights in 
the countryside will usually be delightful and 
the daytime hours in contemplating the glo- 
ries of our gardens will atone for all the rest. 
Our summer lassitude will give way to more 



210 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

brisk endeavor, and we shall be rinding our- 
selves eager to enter with zest upon another 
season's occupations. Our gardens will still 
give us plenty to do and our hands need not be 
idle in their service. 

There is something satisfying about Sep- 
tember's well-settled beds of gorgeous Asters, 
Gladioli, Cosmos and the Lilies that have not 
yet forsaken us. We may miss the Daffodils 
of May, the Roses of June, the Columbine of 
July, and Veronica, fair maid of the August 
garden, but we still have Ageratum, Anemone 
Campanula, Clarkia, Dahlia, Foxglove, Go- 
detia, Helianthus, Lobelia, Moonflower, dear 
little Love-in-a-Mist, and many other old fa- 
vorites with us. How glad we are, as we step 
forth in the early morning to gather bouquets 
for the house, that we took the trouble to plan 
for, to plant and to care for the blue Aconite, 
the purple Aster, Bellflower, rose-purple 
Chelone, Helium and Helianthus — each as 
golden and as glorious as the other, — the Scar- 
let Lobelia, Phlox, Rudbeckia and blushing 
Sedum. 

We look around upon our garden's delights 
with pride, and even our garden mistakes seem 



THROUGH THE YEAR IN A GARDEN 211 

trivial beside the successes that have come to 
our patient cultivation of the plants we love. 
Over there, we tell ourselves, our hardy bor- 
der has come out too thinly, but we can make 
amends even in the month to come, for by the 
time October's planting is here our summer's 
experience will have shown us wherein we may 
make next year's garden even far more lovely, 
perhaps, than this season's one has been. 

The Garden-beginners will wish to take note 
of the color effects derived by planting — they 
hardly knew what, when their inexperienced 
hand first sowed the seed or set out seedlings. 
Now as one looks about, there may appear too 
much dark color, just there by the Hollyhocks 
or the Cosmos may have come out all white 
and pale lilac, when its own reds would have 
given the needed "spotting" for contrast. 
Next year all this could be made right, for as 
soon as it is possible, one should replant for 
still better color effects than it was possible 
until a summer in the garden had taught its 
valuable lessons. 

Our great-grandmothers never let the month 
of September slip by without being on the alert 
for ripening seed-pods of annuals and peren- 



212 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

nials. The garden-maker of to-day usually 
bothers little about such things as necessity 
does not compel it, but a garden grown from 
its own seed is apt to be a successful one, fol- 
lowing, in this respect, the sacred traditions of 
the garden at Mount Vernon, a true descend- 
ant of the flowers planted by Martha Wash- 
ington. 

Peonies should be planted in September, and 
it is found by experience that if showy effects 
are desired for this first season, undivided root 
clumps should be selected, as two or three sea- 
sons are requisite to the production from sin- 
gle roots of anything approaching a satisfac- 
tory display. Like the penny Roman-candle, 
the cheap single-root Peony is apt to prove a 
bitter disappointment, only it has the advan- 
tage of being perennial and of finally reach- 
ing effectiveness. 

Crocuses, Daffodils, Jonquils, and other 
early flowering bulbs can go into the ground 
this month though Tulips and Hyacinths can 
very well and safely await October planting. 

As we know how merciless droughts assail 
our late gardens, we will not forget to keep the 
sun-baked soil around the plant-bases stirred 



THROUGH THE YEAR IN A GARDEN 213 

up when they need it, making little "tunnels" 
to the plant roots so water may reach these. 
A good plan is to remove a couple of inches of 
soil from around the choice shrubs and after 
watering until the soil will soak up no more 
moisture, to replace that which we have taken 
out, crumbling it fine and letting it act as a 
mulch. 

Some of September's blistering days (days 
that do make us forget the cool sound of the 
month's name and that it is not still midsum- 
mer), are often discouraging to lawn-makers. 
But one need not despair if a goodly water sup- 
ply and hose are available. Just sprinkling 
the lawn actually does more harm than good. 
The kindly intentioned who sprinkle the lawn 
for five minutes every day probably wonder 
why the grass still sizzles up! The point to 
bear in mind is that lawns need to be drenched. 
They require many and frequent thorough 
wettings, although one must be careful not to 
rip up places in the sod by turning the stream 
of water from the hose nozzle directly upon 
the grass plot. The nozzle should be so 
manipulated that the water will drop from it 
in the manner of falling rain. 



214 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

Evergreens should be planted now, the roots 
being kept shaded and well moistened until 
they are in the ground. In transplanting 
Evergreens we must not forget the importance 
of that fact, for the neglect of it may ruin all 
chances of success for the Evergreens that are 
being set out. 

OCTOBER 

To the observant eye even the first days of 
October are attended by many little changes 
that mark the rapidity with which Autumn 
has advanced. The face of nature is changing, 
whichever way we look. We realize how soon 
our lovely Summer gardens are to be taken 
from us, and for once Winter will seem to be 
creeping stealthily over the border of Flora's 
realm like an enemy bringing the warfare that 
later is to devastate the kingdom of foliage. 
As we walk along our garden paths our way 
shall lead through fallen leaves and just as 
Spring scenery awakes within us gladsome 
emotion so will the Autumn landscape find us 
sorrowing perhaps. But we know in our 
hearts that our beautiful gardens will not per- 
ish, that they will be but resting for a sea- 



THROUGH THE YEAR IN A GARDEN 215 

son under the kindly mantle of white Winter, 
to reblossom again when another season shall 
call them to their awakening. And then as 
we pause beneath some friendly golden-leaved 
tree and survey the intimate prospect of the 
home garden before us, we are reminded that 
if we would increase the delights we have found 
in it through the months that are past when 
next its glory is to shine again, we must not 
lose time now planning for the development 
of its beauties. This is, indeed, a month of 
greater gardening activity than September al- 
though many novices there are in the gentle art 
of the trowel who imagine that planting is 
merely a Springtime annual duty and not a 
May and October perennial pleasure. 

The lawn will need a careful October over- 
hauling for here and there bare spots are apt 
to be discovered. A sharp rake will loosen up 
the soil sufficiently for "treating" them. A 
dressing of pulverized sheep manure should 
precede the seeding. In this connection the 
amateur lawn-maker should be reminded that 
it is of great importance that seed of the best 
quality be obtained from a reliable dealer. 
When the raked surface of the bare spots is 



216 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

seeded, the seeded places should have earth 
sprinkled over them and well rolled down to 
prevent the seed from blowing away. Many 
lawn makers imagine that grass should be per- 
mitted to go uncut and to grow tall during the 
late Autumn as a protection to the grass roots, 
but this is a mistake. The lawn should be kept 
well clipped until the grass stops growing for 
the season. Another fallacy with lawn-mak- 
ers is the supposition that an unsightly top 
dressing of stable manure is necessary for ap- 
plication to lawns. Pulverized sheep manure 
is of far greater value, a good top-dressing of 
which will suffice. It is absurd to render the 
lawns offensively unsightly through the Winter 
months by the other method, and home garden- 
makers fortunately are coming to appreciate 
this point of view. 

Unless the Winters in a locality are very se- 
vere the early October days lend themselves to 
the planting of ornamental trees and shrubs, 
but in one's choice of specimens for planting 
local climatic conditions should be taken into 
account. It would be well to consult some lo- 
cal horticulturist of experience or some reliable 



THROUGH THE YEAR IN A GARDEN 217 

nurseryman when planning for shrubs for Fall 
planting. 

Hardy Roses, too, may be set out now be- 
fore hard frosts, and this will probably insure 
early Spring bloom if the newly set out Rose 
bushes are carefully protected by a good mulch 
before the setting in of any severe weather. 
Hardy Climbing Roses should also be planted 
during the Autumn. Among the bush Roses 
for Autumn planting General Jacqueminot 
(red), the crimson Prince Camille de Rohan, 
the Paul Neyron, and the White American 
Beauty should surely be selected for Fall 
planting. 

It often happens, especially with garden- 
beginners, that there is neglected the very im- 
portant matter of providing labels to identify 
the spots in his garden where he has been set- 
ting out bulbs and roots in the time of Autumn 
planting. One may have an excellent mem- 
ory, but when Winter comes along to change 
the aspect of things, it will be found that by 
springtime there is something of confusion in 
mind as to where this plant or that one actually 
•was placed. All this will interfere seriously 
with the garden-maker's spring work. There- 



218 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

fore, it would be well to mark locations of 
plants set out this autumn by means of secure 
labels and label stakes. 

October is the month wherein should be per- 
formed the task of placing manure over the 
garden. This should then be spaded or plowed 
in before the approach of November. The 
fallen leaves that have collected in raking the 
lawn throughout the Autumn can be saved to 
use as a mulch for the garden and strawberry 
beds that require such protection. Those who 
have hardwood trees on their lawns will find 
the leaves of such trees the best suited to 
mulching. 

NOVEMBER 

November, pioneer of Winter, comes with 
his sickle of frost to mow down the last outside 
vestiges of Summer's festive fruitfulness, only 
defied by the Evergreens in their magic armor. 
The brown, dry leaves will be blown hither and 
thither rustling across the ground to the music 
of the late Autumn winds. We miss the song 
birds, and half pity the sparrows as they chat- 
ter in their almost affected cheerfulness. The 
purples of cloudland are becoming leaden-hued 



THROUGH THE YEAR IN A GARDEN 219 

at times and the little children are alertly- 
watching for the earliest snowflakes. City- 
dwellers go about much as usual and it little 
occurs to them to reflect upon Nature's 
changed aspect along the countryside unless 
some journey takes them farther from their 
lanes of asphalt and the groves of brick and 
mortar. 

And yet there is something restful in the 
contemplation of November in the country if 
one may come in from an exhilarating walk 
over hill and dale to the crackling open fire 
that awaits him indoors. There will be stories 
to tell of the little animals we have seen busy 
at work in the nut woods laying in their winter 
stores. These are busy times of provisioning 
for them. The squirrel will be the busiest of 
all for he hibernates for the shortest time, and 
he will not be minded to wake up to an empty 
larder. We will watch his antics laughingly, 
and wonder if we have learned our lesson as 
well as he has. If our vegetable cellars are 
well stored we will bear him no grudge. We 
may well be reminded, though, that if our har- 
vest is over there is still work for us to do in 
our gardens. We have probably cellared our 



220 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

beets, carrots, turnips, celery, etc., in cool but 
frost-proof places by this time, and we should 
turn our attention to the lettuce, cauliflower, 
etc., that can now go into the coldframe for 
wintering against setting out early in the 
springtime. 

November brings one to contemplate the 
garden indoors. House-plants have come to 
be much neglected of late years. Of course 
one does not wish for the return of the sense- 
less old fashion of filling up every window in 
the house with foliage which prevailed. What 
funny things one used to see — delicate 
Fuchsias in tomato-cans or old sugar-bowls 
converted into receptacles for the second-best 
Geraniums! Nevertheless there is much hap- 
piness to be attained through the pursuit of 
indoor gardening, and it is well worth think- 
ing about seriously. 

Joyous is one whose garden passeth from 
Summer's glories through Autumn's gorgeous- 
ness into Winter's immobile whiteness with 
that grace which will lead one to have faith in 
the Niobe-like awakening when Spring shall 
breathe again upon the face of the frozen earth. 
There is nothing more dismal and bleak than 



THROUGH THE YEAR IN A GARDEN 221 

the prospect afforded the eye by the sight of 
an unkempt garden, snow-covered^and dreary. 

Why is it that so many of our garden-mak- 
ers dream only of Summer's green and jewel- 
colored season, and take little heed of the 
white days of the reign of Boreas? Surely a 
clump of Evergreens just there or a hedge here 
would turn the whole deserted garden spot 
into an area pleasant to look upon. I know 
one garden-maker who has had the good sense 
to leave standing a row of Sunflower stalks, 
each one crowned with its seed pod. As you 
may well know the birds have shown their ap- 
preciation, and day after day they flock thither 
and chirp away with gratitude in their little 
notes. It is sorrowful enough to be missing 
the flowers without having to mourn the flown 
birds. Every kind garden ought to have its 
little bird shelter. 

Often has it appeared strange to me that 
sun-dials are left so bleak through winter- 
time. A wreathing of Bittersweet or a mass- 
ing of Rosa rugosa would insure scarlet ber- 
ries and crimson haws for winter decoration. 
The red of the Rose hip, clinging to the brown 
stems of the bushes, is one of the many such 



222 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

compensations which Nature bestows when she 
seems to have taken so much from our gar- 
dens. 

And the old stone wall will be looking sear 
and gray, but it will remind us to plan for 
planting its crevices with all sorts of flower- 
ing things for next Summer's adorning. Then 
when another winter will have come to our 
door we shall find the wall covered with a net- 
work of vines and stems like a weaving of 
silken threads of brown. 

DECEMBER 

I wonder if the time will come when every 
man whose homeland boasts a few acres will 
have a little vineyard? For those who have 
their own vines it will be well to remember that 
December should not pass without pruning 
grapevines. It is so much better to do this 
now, I think, than to wait until March, when 
the winds of the first spring month will cer- 
tainly subject the then-pruned vines to the risk 
of damage. 

As there will be plenty of leisure for the 
country dwellers in December they will do well 
to utilize some of it in carefully inspecting all 



THROUGH THE YEAR IN A GARDEN 223 

trees to see which trees have dead limbs that 
need sawing off at this time. The stumps of 
perennials should also be trimmed off and the 
hardy borders protected by a mulch, for noth- 
ing is more trying to plants than the thawing 
and freezing and freezing and thawing again 
to which they are subjected, without such pro- 
tection, throughout the varying temperatures 
of Winter's changeable weather. However, 
perennials should not be covered with any 
dressing as heavy as that of manureal mulches. 
Vines, too, will need looking after. It is al- 
most pitiful to see how these are often neg- 
lected, being dragged to earth by ice and snow, 
when a little care and forethought would have 
made it possible to give them just the support 
they needed in the way of tacked-up fasten- 
ings of cloth and of leather strips, or a stake 
support. If one is experimenting with plants 
in coldframes, covering the frames at night 
with straw mats and shutters is not to be for- 
gotten. Even though the month appears to be 
mild, neglect to do this will almost inevitably 
lead the garden-maker to regret it ! One may, 
perhaps, need to turn occasionally from the de- 
fensive to the offensive and to sally forth, 



224 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

hatchet in hand, to chop down any wild cherry 
trees in the neighborhood if, in the season just 
passed, they harbored tent caterpillars, the 
pest to which the Wild Cherry so generously 
offers hospitality. 

December indoors will find us busying our- 
selves with planning the Yule-tide decorations. 
It is then we will wish that our gardens could 
yield us some of the things that go towards 
brightening the setting of the holiday season. 
The red hips of the Rose bushes and the Ever- 
greens we need will remind us to make another 
season more provident for our Christmas time 
intentions and why should we not spare holi- 
day greens from our indoor stock for trimming 
the sundial, the quiet fountain or the garden 
seat? Surely Christmas is everywhere, in- 
doors and out! 



LENVOI 



THE VESPER GARDEN 



I know a garden fair where fountains play 
And cooling zephyrs blow through fragrant 

boughs. 
There purling streams are cut by petal-prows 
Of faerie flower-boats a-sail that way. 

The air is white with Hawthorn-blossoms 

blown 
Like falling flecks of snow to deck the earth, 
And patient mother-soil who gave them birth, 
Smiles to see them mumming winter flown. 

As crimson sunset, when the day is done, 
Full red blow Roses filling every bower 
With glorious radiance. What subtle power 
Of potent magic they from love have won! 

225 



226 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 

Just where that silv'ry well holds shaded pool 
To quench perchance the thirst of grateful 

glade, 
Nestles some Primrose, seeming half afraid 
To fill its cup of gold with vintage cool. 

The very wheel whereon the Thread of Life 
Is coarsely spun, or drawn by Her, 
Who with the Other Two, heeds not its whirr, 
Less noisy is than yonder bees at strife. 

They seek the honey of the Asphodel, 
And all her treasure, despite her moaned grief, 
Tear from her keeping; each a wanton thief, 
Breaks calyx-bolt she thought would guard it 
well. 

Like sea of Sicily yon laving tide 
Of meadow-land the garden-shore with spray 
Of Sedgegrass kisses in sweet windwaft way; 
The flush-tinged Daisies in the hedgerow hide. 

Lo! Now at eventide the Mignonette 
In fair conspiracy with Jasmine-flower 
Breathes incense to perfume this holy hour; 
A nightingale sings from its minaret. 



THE VESPER GARDEN 227 

So calls to prayer my soul when each day 

fades, 
And all my heart's song now an angelus 
Becomes as acolyte's hand tremulous 
Swings censer in God's golden glades. 



